The Order of the Gods
by aspiringarchitect
Summary: Dumbledore has specifically asked for Percy and Annabeth's help protecting the Golden Trio. Join your favourite characters as they battle villains such as Umbridge, detention, and maybe some monsters. Story rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note : This is my first posted story. If anyone reads this, please review. I'd love the help. So, the timeline is after HoO (Before ToA and MCGoA) and for HP during OotP. Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER : Full rights to JK Rowling and Rick Riordan.**

* * *

"Percy." A voice whispered. Percy groaned and rolled over. "Percy!"

He felt someone shaking his shoulders. He relented, opening his eyes, refreshed after his third nightmare-free night in a row. Being at Camp Half-Blood, being safe - or as safe as a demigod can be - had reduced his and Annabeth's nightmares considerably.

Percy's vision cleared. Looking down at him were a pair of intense grey eyes. Instantly, Percy's day was better.

"Hey, Wise Girl." He said, sitting up to kiss her. "What's up?"

"Chiron wants us in his office." she said, her smile disappearing.

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. Fifteen minutes. Go!" She left, the door swinging. Percy sighed and began scouring the floor of cabin 3 for any clean clothes.

"Aha!" he yelled aloud, triumphant from finding a pair of clean shorts and a slightly wrinkled orange Camp t-shirt. Percy ran his fingers through his hair, brushed his teeth and bolted out the door.

He made it to the Big House with thirty seconds to spare.

"Wow," Annabeth exclaimed, "You're on time?"

"Don't sound so surprised." He defended.

"Children," Chiron interrupted. He was in wheelchair form. "Sit, we have much to discuss."

They sat, praying this meeting wasn't about what they thought it was.

"You won't like this," Chiron shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair, "But there's been a request for you two. A job."

Percy stood up quickly, "No."

"Please, Percy, just let me explain it to you." Percy sat down, scowling. "A week ago, I had a message from an old friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore." Percy made a loud choking sound. Annabeth smacked his shoulder. "He needs two demigods for a special mission." Chiron paused, waiting for a reaction.

"What kind of mission?" Annabeth asked.

"You're needed to protect a group of children."

"Are they demigods?"

"No." Chiron shifted uncomfortably again. "There are some details that I can only tell you should you accept the quest."

Percy saw Annabeth tense slightly, neither of them were eager to go on another quest so soon after the Giant War. Annabeth sent Percy a look that seemed to say, _Well?_ She was putting the decision on him. Percy examined Chiron's face and realized that they didn't have a choice.

"Alright." Percy said, voice quavering slightly. "We'll do it."

"Perfect!" Chiron said. "Now, about the children. Albus is the headmaster of a school in Scotland. A school for wizards."

" _What?_ " Annabeth and Percy yelled in unison.

"Wizards aren't real!" Annabeth said, pushing Percy's jaw closed - it had been hanging open.

"Ah, but isn't that what you said about the gods?" Chiron had a point there. "Now, the three children you are to protect go to this school. Your job is to befriend them and protect them from an evil wizard intent on killing one of them."

Percy's brain was furiously trying to keep up, processing faster than normal.

"The evil wizard's name is Voldemort. He wants to kill a young boy named Harry Potter. You cannot let that happen. You'll be attending the school for this year, and you will be joining fifth year because of lack of magical knowledge. And before you say anything, all your marks will be carried over for New Rome University. Also, you _cannot_ let them know you are demigods."

"Okay, but, Chiron," Annabeth said, "We're not wizards."

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Chiron explained, "Albus had some wands made that are enchanted to perform spells without magical knowledge."

"Okay, but how do we get there?" Percy said, eager to have some input on the exchange.

"I've arranged a flight fr-" He didn't get to finish.

"WHAT?!" Percy yelled, turning pale. "Did you say _flight_?!"

"Percy, calm down." Annabeth grabbed his hand and his colour returned.

"As I was saying," Chiron continued, "I've arranged a flight from Manhattan Regional Airport to London. When you arrive at the airport you'll meet a man named Sirius Black. He'll take you to a meeting with an organization called the Order of the Phoenix" Annabeth opened her mouth to ask a question but Chiron held up his hand. "Annabeth, just let me finish. The Order was created by Albus when Voldemort first rose. You both will become members. After the meeting, Sirius will escort you to the train bound for the school. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, "First, you never told us what the school is called."

"Ah, yes…" Chiron eyed Percy suspiciously. "The school's name is Hogwarts."

Percy couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Hogwarts?"

He saw Annabeth trying to suppress a smile.

"Okay," Annabeth said after Percy had calmed down, "When are we leaving?"

"August 31st."

"That's two days from now!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Yes, I apologize, it was very last minute. Any other questions I'm sure the Order can answer, now go pack!"

"Wait! How will we recognize this… Harry Potter?"

"He's been marked by Zeus."

"What?" Percy asked.

"Go pack!"

"But-"

"Go!"

Percy and Annabeth got up and walked out the door, incredibly confused. "He's worse than the Oracle." Percy said.

* * *

Percy was just finishing packing when Annabeth let herself into his cabin. Not that he minded, of course. "You done packing, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.

He zipped up his bag, "Yup!"

"Great! Argus is waiting in the van."

They had an overnight flight to London. Chiron had made Zeus promise not to shoot them out of the sky. Chiron had also decided that Percy might feel better about flying if he could sleep on the plane. Percy picked up his bag and ran out the door, taking Annabeth's hand on the way out. Together, they ran up Half-Blood Hill.

"How much longer?" Percy asked Annabeth.

She sighed, "Half an hour."

"Really?" Percy was sure it had only been about two hours.

"You've been asleep for six hours, Percy."

"Oh."

The over-com crackled, "This is your captain speaking, we'll be starting our descent into London shortly. The temperature is currently 10 degrees Celsius and sunny." The seat-belt sign light turned off. Percy's ears began to pop and his stomach turned. He gripped Annabeth's hand tightly. She gave a reassuring squeeze and smiled at him. Gods, he loved her.

The plane landed safely and slowed down. Percy resisted the urge to jump up and dance around in relief. Instead, he pecked Annabeth on the cheek. "Thanks, uncle." He muttered, looking up, imagining his uncle, Zeus, angry that he wasn't allowed to shoot his least favourite nephew out of existence.

Percy and Annabeth collected their bags and went to look for Sirius Black.


	2. Chapter 2

A man with mid-length jet-black hair stood, holding a large sign. Annabeth pointed him out to Percy. "That must be Sirius Black."

"How do you know?" Percy asked.

"Because, Seaweed Brain, the sign says: _Hogwarts Exchange Students : Perseus and Annabeth_."

"Oh." At first glance, to Percy, it said: " _Hgoratws cEhxagen dsetnStu : Psesrue adn nAnbahet_ " but he couldn't quite be sure, as the letters kept jumping around. Concentrating hard, he saw the right words. Percy and Annabeth made their way over.

"Hello." The man said, "I'm Sirius Black."

"Perseus." Percy said. "But _please_ call me Percy."

"Annabeth." she said, extending a hand. Sirius shook it.

"We should get to the meeting. It's being held at a pub near King's Cross in ten minutes." Sirius motioned for the demigods to follow him.

* * *

The Leaky Cauldron popped up out of nowhere. Percy heard Annabeth mutter something about Mist. They entered and followed Sirius to a small room in the back. In the candlelight, Percy found three new faces watching him, examining him. A woman's voice piped up, "Sirius, they're teenagers!"

"That's correct, Molly."

"What was Dumbledore thinking?" The woman muttered. She had bright red hair and fit the title of 'mother' perfectly.

"Uh, hi!" Annabeth said. "I'm Annabeth Chase."

She elbowed Percy. "I'm Percy Jackson."

"Right, now that's settled," said Sirius, "First order of business - here." He handed Percy and Annabeth two long, slim boxes. Inside were sticks.

 _No, not sticks, wands!_ Percy reminded himself.

His was made of driftwood and the core was pegasus hair - well, that's what the little sticker on the inside the box's lid said. Annabeth's was made of the wood of an olive tree ( _Of course_ , Percy thought.) and the core was owl feather.

"Next, you young wizards-" Sirius pointed to Percy and Annabeth. Percy gulped, remembering what Chiron had told them: _You_ cannot _let them know you're demigods_. "-Shall be given a little more information. Tonks?"

The second woman sat up. Her shoulder-length hair was bright purple, her eyes pink. That struck Percy as unnatural, and his hand went instinctively to his jeans pocket, gripping Riptide in pen form. Annabeth seemed to have noticed too, as her hand lingered by her belt, where her sweater hid a new bronze knife - her drakon bone sword was concealed in her suitcase.

"I'm Tonks," the woman said, "This is a touchy subject, but last year, Harry was chosen for a competition. You-Know-Who kidnapped him and his friend Cedric Diggory and used Harry's blood to rise again. Cedric was killed. You-Know-Who now threatens Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione. Your job is to not let You-Know-Who get to them."

"Okay. But-" Percy started.

"No time for questions!" Sirius shouted, looking at his watch. "Got to get you two to the train!"

"Run through the wall."

" _What?_ " Annabeth asked, looking at Sirius as though he was crazy.

"You heard me."

"That's not possible."

"Yeah, I'm with Annabeth on this one." Percy said.

"Just do it. Don't think, just run at the bricks."

"Bricks to the head?" Percy said, smiling. "Where's Jason when you need him!"

Annabeth laughed. She eyed the wall. "Here goes nothing." she muttered. She gripped her suitcase handle and broke into a run. Percy cried out for her to stop. He closed his eyes, preparing for the sound of his girlfriend smashing into a wall.

It never came.

She was gone. Percy took a deep breath, and ran. He braced himself for pain. The wall got closer and closer. Suddenly, the bricks were gone. A bright red steam engine was now on the tracks. "Woah…" Percy breathed.

Annabeth appeared beside him. "Come on, let's find somewhere to sit. The train leaves in twenty minutes." She laced her fingers through his and led him towards the _Hogwarts Express_.

* * *

Pain shot through Harry's head. His ear throbbed. "Ow! Hermione let go!"

"No! We're going to be late because of you two!" She snarled. The time was 10:55. Ron had accidentally left one of his books behind and Harry his favourite quill. They ran through onto platform 9¾, throwing their trunks into the pile **(A/N: I googled it and don't know where the trunks actually go)** and quickly boarding the train. Hermione let go of Ron and Harry's ears and the trio headed down the aisle, in search of an empty compartment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note : I continually forget to do these... Sorry the last two chapters have been so short.**

 **DISCLAIMER : I do not own any of the characters... or the plot line really, it's JK Rowling's. I just sort of changed it...**

* * *

The train had long since left the station by the time Harry, Ron and Hermione found a compartment that had enough space for the three of them. There were two students already sitting inside. A blonde girl who was reading, her feet resting on the lap of a boy who bore striking resemblance to Harry. The boy had the same unruly black hair, same basic build, only this boy was taller, tanner and more muscular. His eyes were closed. They both looked to be seventh years.

Hermione knocked on the compartment door and slid it open. The blonde girl looked up. Her eyes were a startling grey. She examined Harry and his friends. Her face loosened and she smiled. Harry's heart fluttered. She was extremely beautiful.

"Hi." Hermione said. "Do you mind if we sit with you two? Everywhere else is full."

"No problem." The girl said, closing her book.

 _American_ , Harry thought, picking up the accent right away. Harry and his friends filed in, sitting across from the two unfamiliar wizards. The girl kicked Harry 2.0.

"What?" He groaned, keeping his eyes closed. The girl kicked him again. His eyes snapped open. "Alright! Gods, Annabeth!" He spotted the new comers in the compartment. "Oh, hi!" He was American too.

"I'm Annabeth," the girl said, "And this is Percy." The boy waved.

"Hermione." Hermione said, "That's Ron and this is Harry." She pointed to the respective people.

Harry couldn't keep his eyes off Annabeth. Her blonde hair was in beautiful curls, her skin was beautiful, her eyes… Harry just thought she was beautiful.

"Oh my goodness!" Hermione cried. "Ron, we're meant to be with the prefects!"

"Bye Harry!" Ron called as he followed Hermione out.

The compartment door closed and Harry went back to staring at Annabeth.

"Hey, what's that on your forehead?" Percy asked.

"It's the scar Voldemort gave me when he killed my parents." Harry said casually.

"Sorry, man."

"It's okay. It's shaped like a lightning bolt in case you're wondering."

Percy's eyes widened. "Oh my gods…" He muttered. "Annabeth?"

"Yeah, I know." She said. Harry wanted to know what they were talking about, but before he got the chance to ask, Ron and Hermione got back.

"Wow, that was a short meeting." Harry noticed.

"Yeah. Guess who the Slytherin prefects are." Ron said.

"Malfoy." The name tasted like dust in Harry's mouth. He hated Malfoy.

"And that cow, Pansy Parkinson." Hermione said, scowling.

"What's a prefect?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "They're like our counselors."

"Ohhhhh!" Percy said drawing out the word.

"Counselors?" Hermione said.

"We go to the same summer camp." Annabeth explained.

"Oh. So, where are you guys from?"

"New York, but we're moving to California next year. Hopefully."

"Both of you?" Ron asked.

"That's the plan," Annabeth answered. She turned to Percy, "If _this one_ can pass his exams!"

"Hey!" Percy protested. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him and opened her book again. Percy sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. A muggle MP3 Player. Annabeth looked up, "Perce, I told you not to bring that!"

"If you can bring your phone, I can bring my MP3." Percy retorted.

"What's an MP3?" Ron asked.

"It's a muggle device." Hermione explained, "It lets you listen to music."

"My dad would love that!"

Harry smiled, remembering Arthur Weasley's astonishment and fascination with muggles. Rubber ducks, pictures that don't move, cell phones.

"Muggles?" Percy muttered. He looked to Annabeth.

Without looking up, she said, "Mortals."

"Oh." Percy put his headphones in and was very much dead to the world.

"So," Hermione said, "What year are you in?"

Annabeth closed her book, "Five."

"Really? I haven't seen you two before."

"We're exchange students from Ilvermorny in North America. They teach different stuff there, so by Hogwarts standards, we're fifth years."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

Hermione seemed to be done asking her questions, so Annabeth went right back to reading, and Harry, went right back to staring at her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note : Thank you for the kind reviews! I'm glad people are enjoying! For the guest who requested some more Percabeth (OTP!), not in this chapter, but the next one definitely!**

.

Hermione didn't know quite what to make of the transfers. They seemed nice, but Hermione had never heard of Hogwarts doing an exchange program. She liked Annabeth alright, the two shared a love of reading and Annabeth seemed to also deal with a clueless best friend. Hermione figured Percy and Harry would get along fine, but knowing Ron, it would take a little longer for him to come around. _Ron probably thinks they're death eaters_ , Hermione thought. She had also picked up Harry's immediate crush on Annabeth.

She returned to the compartment after changing from her muggle clothes to her robes, only to find Percy and Annabeth in a deep conversation. A conversation that stopped as soon as Hermione entered.

"Are you two not changing?" Hermione asked.

"We don't have uniforms yet." Percy said.

Hermione pinned her new prefect badge onto her robes. Ron and Harry came back then, discussing rumors about new teachers.

"Who do you think will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year?" Harry said.

"I dunno, but I hope they know what they're doing."

* * *

The train pulled into the station just as it got dark. As the students began to file off, Hermione and Ron went to help the first years.

When they were done, they followed the older students to the carriages, searching for their friends. They found Ginny, Neville and a blonde Ravenclaw girl Hermione barely recognized. Luna Lovegood, or as people called her behind her back, Loony Lovegood. Ron and Hermione climbed on just as Harry, Percy and Annabeth appeared out of the crowd and made their way towards.

About a metre away from the carriage, Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "What is that?" He asked, pointing to something Hermione couldn't see.

Hermione frowned, "There's nothing there, Harry."

"Yes there is! The weird horse things… Pulling the carriages…"

Hermione was officially worried now. "Nothing pulls the carriages, Harry. They pull themselves."

"Wait, you don't see them?" Percy asked.

Hermione was baffled. Were they seeing things?

"You're not crazy," said a airy voice; Luna Lovegood. "I can see them too. They're called Thestrals. They can only be seen by people who've seen death."

Hermione remembered Cedric. He'd been murdered by Voldemort right in front of Harry. Harry looked at his feet and climbed onto the carriage. Percy and Annabeth stood for another second, admiring the invisible creatures.

Percy looked over to Annabeth, "If Nico were an animal." And he gestured to the Thestrals.

Annabeth laughed and climbed onto the carriage, with Percy following. They rode to the castle in silence.

Professor McGonagall was waiting at the doors to Hogwarts. "Good evening." she said, walking over to their carriage. "I take it you are the exchange students?" she looked at Percy and Annabeth. They nodded. "Follow me." And she whisked them away through the crowd and into the castle.

* * *

The students settled at their house tables and Dumbledore stood up at his podium. He waved his hand and the Great Hall doors opened. McGonagall led the nervous first years down the middle. "Let the sorting begin!"

Ron watched in absolute boredom as the Sorting Hat sand it's annoying song. He clapped when someone was put in Gryffindor, but didn't ever catch their names.

Finally, it was over and Dumbledore took to his podium again. "New students, welcome, and older students, welcome back! Before I get to the rules and staffing changes of the coming school year, I'd like to welcome two new students from Ilvermorny school in North America. They will be joining Gryffindor house and taking classes with the fifth years." The Great Hall doors swung open again and Percy and Annabeth entered, now wearing brand new Gryffindor robes. Percy's face brightened when he spotted where Ron, Harry and Hermione were sitting.

Ron almost groaned out loud. It wasn't that he didn't like Percy and Annabeth, they were nice, it was just that Hermione and Harry seemed to trust them immediately, Harry especially. Ron just found it a bit strange how they just turned up out of the blue. You'd think the fifth year Gryffindors might've gotten some warning.

Percy and Annabeth sat down across from Ron and Harry, next to Hermione. Dumbledore began introducing the new teachers. Again, Ron didn't really pay attention. He was vaguely aware that Hagrid was gone and that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was absolutely revolting.

"Hem, hem." Said an equally revolting voice. The lady dressed in pink with the false smile, stepped out from behind the staff table.

To Ron, it looked like Dumbledore was trying not to strangle the woman, his smile wavering. Nobody, _nobody_ , ever interrupted Dumbledore. "Yes, professor Umbridge?"

"Well, headmaster, I was just hoping I could say a few words?"

"Of course." Ron heard the distaste clear as day.

Harry gasped. "She was at my hearing!" he whisper yelled.

Umbridge took to the podium. "Hello, students, blah blah blah." Ron zoned out. He took to examining the Great Hall. He'd done it a thousand times yet it was still more interesting than what Professor Pink had to say.

When she was done, Dumbledore started the feast. Ron piled his plate high and dug in. Harry looked to Hermione for answers about the previous speech. "What did _that_ mean?"

"It means," Hermione said, "the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

* * *

Hermione already hated Umbridge. Her fake smile, superior attitude… Hermione wanted to set fire to her pink pants suit… with Umbridge still in it. It had been hidden in her speech, deep between the lines, but the message was clear: things were going to change at Hogwarts - and the Ministry would be behind it.

After the feast, Hermione and Ron had led the Gryffindor first years to the common room. Harry had taken Percy and Annabeth. Once the first years were settled, there'd been a row between Seamus and Harry about what the Daily Prophet kept saying about him. The whole 'Harry's lying and Voldemort's not back and nobody knows how Cedric Diggory died' thing had the school divided.

Hermione was content to finally be able to relax. She studied her schedule. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, then lunch, Divination, Herbology.

Percy and Annabeth went to bed early ("Jet Lag." Annabeth said.), leaving Hermione alone in the common room to finish reading her textbooks.

Harry and Ron came down from the boy's dorm. "It's alright, Harry." Ron said, "Seamus will come 'round soon enough."

"Thanks Ron. Hey Hermione." The boys sat with her by the fireplace. "So what do you make of Percy and Annabeth?"

"Well I certainly don't like them as much as you, mate." Ron said, playfully punching his best friend in the arm.

Harry's face turned bright red.

"Why talk about them?" Hermione asked. "What about Umbridge? She's horrible!"

"Yeah. She's bloody awful." Ron agreed.

They chatted for a while about nothing, mostly just enjoying being back in the castle.

Hermione checked the time. "Merlin's Beard!" she cried. Her watch read 11:23. "We've got lessons tomorrow. Better get to bed." The boys groaned. Hermione piled up her books and took to the stairs.

She crept into the room. All the other girls were asleep. Hermione laid her books at the foot of her bed and changed quickly. She jumped into bed and almost immediately fell asleep.

But not for long.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note : I'm glad people enjoyed the last chapter! Sorry about the cliff hanger (They're fun when you're the author)! I'm going camping for the next 2 days so there won't be anything until Friday. Sorry! i couldn't get out of it. And yes, winter camping. I live in the northern hemisphere soooo... wish me luck!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I'm not the creative genius behind these characters. Round of applause for JK Rowling and Rick Riordan!**

.

Annabeth didn't want to fall asleep, so she replayed the day in her head. Her and Percy's arrival, the Order meeting, the train, the Thestrals, the castle - gods, the castle! It was beautiful! It was so _British_ , a refreshing change from Greek columns - and then the speeches. Annabeth got the feeling that Professor Dumbledore wasn't supposed to be interrupted. She'd seen the looks on everybody's faces.

Finally, fatigue took hold, and Annabeth was forced into a restless sleep.

* * *

She was in Tartarus.

The _arai_ were attacking. With Riptide, Percy sliced down about five, releasing the curses past monsters had muttered about him as they disintegrated. He screamed, blood pouring out of the new wounds. Annabeth's heart broke.

An _arae_ advanced on her. She killed it with her bag, not caring what the curse would be.

The world instantly turned black. She could still hear everything, smell the sulfurous air, taste the fire-water from the Phlegethon. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She ducked and somehow killed another.

Big mistake.

Percy was gone. He'd left her, stranded in Tartarus, by herself with no weapon. She was blind and heartbroken. Annabeth was too distraught to be mad. She wandered around aimlessly, occasionally feeling the ground shift under her feet. She didn't care anymore. She felt the ground give way.

Before she could fall, a giant hand scooped her up. Annabeth couldn't help it. She screamed.

It must've been loud, because she shook herself to semi-consciousness. She could now, just barely, distinguish dream and reality.

Unfamiliar hands gripped her arm, trying to wake her. She fought, kicking out, screaming some more. She would never admit it to anyone but Percy, but she was terrified.

The hands let go. New ones, familiar ones, grabbed her hands. Annabeth fought to open her eyes, forcing then open all at once.

She sat up, gasping for clean air.

She saw him. She'd been so sure he'd left her, but now she simply threw herself into his arms.

"It's okay." Percy whispered, pulling her to him. "It's okay, we're safe."

Annabeth felt his lips press against her forehead. Percy repositioned himself so he was against the headboard of Annabeth's bed. His arm draped itself around her and pulled her in. Annabeth rested her head against his chest, feeling his breathing. Steady. Annabeth almost laughed.

He was already asleep.

Annabeth was vaguely aware of all the stares she was getting from the other girls. She couldn't of cared less. Slowly, the other Gryffindors went back to sleep, except Hermione. She stayed sitting on the edge of her bed, watching Annabeth and Percy.

But Annabeth was too tired to care. She was too tired to notice the dark outline of a person watching from the far window, unseen by everyone.

* * *

Ron was the last to wake up. Harry and the other boys were gone. Ron vaguely remembered being woken up at around 2 o'clock in the morning, though he couldn't remember why.

Looking at the time, Ron jumped up and put on his robes. He rushed out of Gryffindor tower and down to the Great Hall. Once there, his growing-teenager-hunger took over and he devoured a full serving before noticing Harry and Hermione were even there. "Morning." He said after swallowing a bite of sausage.

"We were just discussing what happened last night." Hermione said.

"Did he really get in?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, he just sort of ran in. I guess he was too quick for the stairs."

Ron shook his head, confused. "Slow down, what happened?" He asked.

"Don't tell me you slept through it, Ron." Harry asked in disbelief.

Ron mumbled something about being a heavy sleeper. "So what did happen?"

"I don't know why," Hermione said, "but Annabeth just started screaming in her sleep. I tried to wake her up but she kicked me." Hermione lifted her sleeve and revealed a large purple bruise. "She only woke up when Percy took her hands."

Harry looked down.

"Then they fell asleep together on Annabeth's bed," Hermione continued. "They were still asleep when I left."

Harry looked slightly paler than usual. "Are they…" Harry paused, finding the words, "a couple?"

"I don't know Harry. Maybe they're just really good friends?" Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

Ron did feel bad for his best friend. First Cho, now Annabeth? Ron wondered if Harry would ever find someone.

Ron quickly changed the subject. "What's first today?"

Hermione didn't even look at her schedule. "Potions."

Ron groaned out loud.

"Hey guys!" Annabeth sat down across from Harry. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Where's Percy?" Ron was determined not to like either of them. It was hard. He needed more valid reasons not to trust them.

That was when Percy decided to show up. Ron could feel the glare Harry was giving the other black haired boy.

Percy sat down next to Annabeth. Her face lit up with a smile. "Good morning, Seaweed Brain."

"Back at you." He said. "It's nice to sit at the same table for once without getting yelled at."

Annabeth laughed.

Hermione frowned. "Were you not in the same house at Ilvermorny?"

"Something like that, yeah." Percy said. He reached to grab some fruit, but his sleeve caught on the table. It pulled down, showing his bare arm. Quick as a flash, Percy yanked the sleeve back up and continued as if nothing had happened. But Ron had seen it.

The Dark Mark. And he was sure of it.

.

 **Author's Note : Is it really the Dark Mark? Or is Ron jumping to conclusions?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note : Yes, I know what I said before about not posting, but there was a change in plans. The wind was blowing snow all over the roads and off of the lake, reducing visibility to zero. The highway that goes to our destitnation was closed and my family and I are currently in a motel in Hanover. Yay. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

...

Percy was actually enjoying the quest. If he ignored the part about protecting Harry Potter from death, it was almost like a normal school year. Except with wizards and witches and being in a different country. He was with Annabeth, so however bad the year got, it would never be unbearable. Percy really wanted to explore the castle. He also wanted some alone time with Annabeth. He decided that he could merge the two that night.

When Percy woke up next to Annabeth, he was momentarily confused. Then the memories returned and he pulled her closer, enjoying her warmth.

She lifted her head, yawning. "Hey." she said, climbing on top of him.

"Hey, Wise Girl."

She pulled his face to hers, kissing him firmly. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back with the same passion and love. Annabeth pulled away. "We should probably get down to the dining hall." She said.

"Yeah." He breathed. "But first…" He kissed her again. She smiled against his lips. Percy's stomach growled, ruining the mood. "About the the dining hall…"

"Come on, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth said, laughing. She hauled Percy to his feet before escorting him out of the girl's dorm.

Percy was about to put on his jeans and orange Camp t-shirt, when he remembered the uniform. He groaned internally and put on the wizard robes.

* * *

Of course, Annabeth was down before him. Percy was very much enjoying the fact that they could sit at the same table. Percy was greeted with a loving smile from Annabeth, a glare from Harry (Percy didn't know why), a smile from Hermione and a suspicious glance in his direction from Ron.

The Hogwarts food was amazing. There was a wide range of different breakfast items to choose from. Percy couldn't decide, so he just took a little bit of everything - earning a eye roll from Annabeth. When he reached for an apple, Percy's robe sleeve caught on the table, revealing his scars. He'd pulled up the sleeve as fast as he could, hoping nobody had seen. **(Yes, this was a pointless paragraph. I'm sorry.)**

* * *

Potions. Potions was interesting. Percy had thought it would be a little like chemistry at school. Boy, was he wrong.

The ingredients were insane! Mandrake root, a bezoar, unicorn blood, lacewing fly. The only thing Percy recognized from his textbook was Lethe river water, and Percy was desperately hoping they weren't going to be making that potion. Ever.

Professor Snape seemed to resent Percy and Annabeth right away.

 _Does he hate all Gryffindors?_ Percy thought, after the first few minutes of class. Snape's every second sentence seemed to be either "Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter!" or "Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley!" with the surnames of other Gryffindors thrown in here and there. There was one boy, a Slytherin, who was clearly Snape's favourite. Draco Malfoy. He fit the 'rich-boy-with-a-powerful-father' stereotype perfectly. The only sentence Percy ever heard him say was,"My father will hear about this" in that pathetic 'I-think-I'm-better-than-you' tone. Percy liked to think that him and Octavian would've been great friends.

The potion they made was impossible for Percy. He couldn't identify the ingredients, nor could he read what the actually were. Annabeth was having better luck, though she'd had to ask Hermione to read out a few instructions - Snape's tight cursive was killer on their dyslexia.

When they were done, Annabeth's potion was smooth and the proper colour.

Percy's was the colour of mud and chunky. Although, Percy was delighted to see that Harry and Ron didn't have a knack for potions either.

The bell signaled the end of class and Percy wanted to get out as soon as possible. He grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her out while she was still putting her books into her bag.

Once outside, Percy was hopeful for the next class. Maybe the teacher would be better. So, hand-in-hand with Annabeth, he skipped off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note : The dialogue for this chapter is taken from the book. I literally had it beside me the whole time. Sorry this took so long to write! I was camping and visiting friends and doing** **sleeping** **other things.**

 **DISCLAIMER : Don't own.**

Harry was praying that Umbridge taught better than she dressed. He was already having a bad day: last night he'd been woken by a faint scream and Percy vaulting his bed to get out the door, this morning he'd learned that Percy and Annabeth were a couple and he had no chance with her, then after potions, when Percy literally skipped down the corridor with Annabeth laughing lovingly at him. Harry really wanted to hate Percy, but he couldn't. He just liked the guy too much. Him and Annabeth were a good pair.

The classroom smelled horrid. It was the typical old-lady smell with a hint of death. The desk at the front was perfectly organized, not a pencil out of place.

Then there was the woman herself. She looked exactly the same as she had the day before. She was wearing the same shade of revolting pink in different articles of clothing. Harry wondered how she found so much in the same shade.

"Well, good afternoon." Umbridge said, her face scrunched into a fake smile.

There was a weak mumble in return.

" _That_ won't, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The class chanted, unenthusiastically.

"There, now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" Professor Umbridge said. "Wands away and quills out, please."

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged sad looks. This was going to be a boring lesson. The class reluctantly obliged and quills surfaced from bookbags. Umbridge took out her own wand.

 _Hypocrite_ , Harry thought bitterly.

With a tap from Umbridge's wand, words written in loopy cursive appeared on the blackboard next to her.

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts : A Return to Basic Principles_

"Well now," Umbridge said, "Your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in you being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year."

When she said this, Harry saw Percy whisper something to Annabeth. She shook her head with an exasperated smile on her face.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified." Umbridge continued. "We will be following a carefully constructed, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard again and the first message was replaced by 'Course Aims'.

 _Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

 _Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

 _Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

The class took a few moments to copy down the aims.

"Has everybody got a copy of 'Defensive Magical Theory' by Wilbert Slinkhard?" Umbridge asked.

She got no distinct reply.

"I think we'll try that again," said Professor Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, 'Yes, Professor Umbridge', or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. So: has everyone got a copy of 'Defensive Magical Theory' by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge." chanted the students.

"Good." Umbridge said. "I should like you to turn to page five and read 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners'. There will be no need to talk."

Harry opened his book and began to read. He couldn't get past the first page, as nothing seemed to stick. Ron was playing with his quill. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Percy give up entirely, moving to play with Annabeth's hair. The girl herself was focusing on the book, as if she was trying to make sense of the words, too. Harry looked to Hermione and was taken aback. What she was doing was so un-Hermione like, Harry wondered if maybe she was being possessed.

She hadn't opened the book. She was just sitting there with her hand up, watching Umbridge.

After a few minutes, almost the entire class was watching Hermione, noticing how out of character her behaviour was, and because it was much more interesting than their textbooks. Except Percy. He was still playing with Annabeth's hair.

Finally, Umbridge looked up. "Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?"

"Not about the chapter, no." Hermione said.

"Well, we're reading just now," said Umbridge. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your class aims." Hermione said, completely ignoring Umbridge's previous statement.

"And your name is?" Umbridge said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hermione Granger." Hermione told her.

At this point, Percy put down Annabeth's hair and began paying attention to the exchange. "Well, Miss Granger," Umbridge said with determined sweetness. "I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

"Well I don't." Hermione retorted. "There's nothing written about _using_ defensive spells."

Harry looked over to the board and found that, of course, she was right.

" _Using_ defensive spells?" Umbridge repeated, as if the idea of wizards using defensive spells was ridiculous. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron exclaimed loudly.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr-?"

"Weasley." said Ron, thrusting his hand into the air.

Hermione and Harry raised their hands.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Umbridge said. "You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes." Hermione said. "Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practise defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" Umbridge asked with false sweetness.

"No, but-"

"Well then, I'm afraid you're not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new programme of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way-"

What use is that?" Harry interrupted loudly. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a-"

" _Hand_ , Mr Potter!" sang Professor Umbridge.

Harry's hand shot into the air in a closed fist. Umbridge turned away, but others had their hands up, too.

"And your name is -?" Umbridge pointed to Dean.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" Dean said. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat," said Professor Umbridge, smiling in irritation at Dean. "Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but-"

A powerful voice rang out from the back of the room, "I do!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note : So... unfortunately, I won't be updating as much this month. School's started again and my school does the semestering system so I have exams (And EQAO) to study for... Sorry.**

...

Harry's head whipped around, following the voice. It was male and confident, a leader's voice.

Percy was standing at his desk, hands placed firmly on the surface. "I expect to be attacked everyday, in every class at any time. It's why I'm still alive today."

" _Raise your hand!_ " Umbridge said through gritted teeth. She forced the smile back to her face. "Perseus Jackson, I don't know how things are run at Ilvermorny, but Hogwarts is a safe place and there's nothing that can hurt you here."

"Yeah?" Percy said.

"Yes. Now please, raise your hand when you wish to speak."

Percy raised his hand and spoke. "Okay, but when Voldemort kills me, I'll be blaming you." Percy sat back down, slouching triumphantly in his chair.

Umbridge looked momentarily at a loss for words. Her fake smile returned, "I assure you, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not back."

Harry couldn't take that. "He _is_ back!"

"Hand, Mr Potter! And I will not have you telling _lies_ in my classroom!"

Harry thrust his fist into the air. His was the only one, so Umbridge had no choice but to call on him. "It's not a lie! I saw him return!"

"Honestly," a female voice came from the back, "Why would _anyone_ make up a story about the most evil person in wizard history returning?"

"Sit _down_ , Miss Chase!" Umbridge snapped.

Harry turned around just in time to see Annabeth sit down. Percy now had his feet up on the desk and his arm was around her right away. They both had smug looks on their faces.

Umbridge was fuming. "There is no need to be frightened, You-Know-Who is not back. If he were, the Ministry would know."

"So how did Cedric Diggory die then?" Harry spat.

"Oh snap!" Percy hollered from the back.

"Detention, Mr Jackson and Mr Potter!" Umbridge yelled. She took a sharp breath, controlling herself. "Meet me in my office at 8 o'clock each night this week."

The bell rang. Harry didn't wait for a dismissal. He bolted from the room.

He stood outside, waiting for Hermione and Ron. Percy and Annabeth passed him, chatting.

"Detention on the first day, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth teased. "Please don't get expelled. Or burn the school down."

"Seven times is enough. **(I couldn't remember the number, I hope this is right.)** And I didn't _mean_ to burn them down!" Percy defended. "It wasn't even my fault"

Harry felt dizzy. Percy had burned down schools? Been expelled? Harry suddenly wanted to keep a closer eye on the two Americans.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron called, coming out of the classroom. Hermione was with him. They made their way over to Harry.

"Guys," Harry said, slightly anxious. "We need to talk about Percy and Annabeth. Tonight, in the common room."

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Not here." Harry whispered.

"Okay," Ron said. "I need to tell you guys something. I'll tell you tonight."

"Great. Time for Divination." Harry told his friends. Hermione groaned. She hated Divination ever since their third year, but this year she was giving it a second chance.

* * *

Hermione climbed the stairs with her best friends towards her least favourite class. Professor Trelawney was crazy. She thought she could see into the future like some sort of Oracle.

They took their seats at the table. There was a crystal ball balanced in the centre. Annabeth and Percy were sitting behind them. Hermione's arm throbbed slightly where Annabeth had kicked her. Must've been quite a nightmare.

Professor Trelawney came out from behind some curtains. "Good afternoon, class," she said in her airy voice. There was a quiet chorus of "Good afternoon, Professor."

Professor Trelawney spotted Percy and Annabeth. "Ah, our new students. Please come to the front so I may read your future!"

Looking confused, the two American wizards obliged, stepping cautiously up to the front. On their way, Harry quietly told them, "Don't worry, her prophecies are never true."

Percy nodded thanks. Professor Trelawney guided them to the front with enthusiastic hand motions. The two stood there, looking as confident as usual, while eyeing Professor Trelawney suspiciously.

 _What had they said about attacks again?_ Harry thought. _Something about always expecting them?_ Harry realized why they looked suspicious.

Professor Trelawney prepared for her fake future-seeing. "Give me your hand, Mr Jackson."

Percy raised an eyebrow, but he put his hand palm-up in hers. Professor Trelawney carefully touched her finger to the centre of his palm and gasped. Her eyes went glassy. Her voice had turned hollow and scary.

" _Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain._

 _The titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _One shall perish by a parent's hand._ "

Harry thought those sounded strangely like prophecy lines. Percy and Annabeth lost their confident looks. Percy's knees buckled and he was on all fours. It looked as though he was trying not to cry. Annabeth had a far away look on her face, as though she was remembering something.

But Professor Trelawney wasn't finished.

" _You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,_

 _Child of Athena's final stand._

 _Destroy with a hero's final breath,_

 _And lose a love worse than death._ "

Annabeth had lost the glassy eyes and was now at Percy's side.

" _Shall see the world in endless sleep,_

 _A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._ "

Annabeth let loose a sob, and Percy hugged her. "Luke…" she whispered.

" _An oath to keep with a final breath,_

 _And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._ "

Percy and Annabeth seemed to be now unaware of the rest of the class. "Leo…" Percy said wistfully. "I couldn't… I couldn't save-"

"Percy," Annabeth grasped his face in her hands. "It wasn't your fault."

Professor Trelawney gasped again and Percy and Annabeth stood quickly. "How did you know those lines?" Percy demanded.

"Sorry?" Professor Trelawney asked.

"The prophecy lines. How did you know them?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I was just about to read your future…" She reached for his hand again but Percy pulled it away.

"You didn't read my future, you read my past." Percy growled.

"I think we'll just sit down," Annabeth croaked. Her eyes were red and puffy but she still sounded confident.

That was the most interesting thing Harry had ever seen. He needed to know what those lines meant. If Percy and Annabeth had been in prophecies, maybe they could help Harry with his. However, Dumbledore hadn't actually told him the prophecy yet.

Percy and Annabeth were muttering behind Harry, so he began eavesdropping.

"How did she know?" Percy said.

"Maybe she's some kind of Oracle, like Rachel?" Annabeth suggested.

"Maybe… but those lines, they were all the ones that predicted death. Bianca, Zoe, Daedalus, Pan, Luke, Leo. Why only those lines?"

"I don't know." Annabeth said.

Harry's heartbeat rang in his ears. No wonder they could see Thestrals. Harry wanted more information, but he wouldn't get it now. He needed to befriend the Americans.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note : So, I realized that I forgot about lunch in the timetable in the last chapter… Oops! Sorry this chapter is short, it was written during lunches and in Geography in my free time. Enjoy!**

* * *

Annabeth wasn't enjoying her day. Hogwarts had been okay until Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was nice to be with Percy, exploring a new country and a new culture. And the architecture… gods, the architecture. The castle was just incredible. The Great Hall, the staircases… it was a welcome change from Greek columns and pavilions. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, she'd narrowly escaped detention. There was so much more she'd wanted to say, but at the beginning of the school year she'd promised herself that she wouldn't get detention for at least the first week.

The same could not be said for Percy. But Annabeth had expected that. She just hoped he didn't get himself expelled.

Then there was Divination. The one class Annabeth had decided wouldn't draw attention to her and Percy. She couldn't have been more wrong. Professor Trelawney had just _touched_ Percy's hand then suddenly spouted all the death-predicting lines from the prophecies Percy and she had been in. Except the one where she'd been kidnapped and was holding up the sky, therefore being unable to participate.

It had been torture. With every line, Percy had sunk to his knees and Annabeth had been reduced to tears. They'd probably accidentally revealed more than they were supposed to in the _year_ in that one class on the _first day_.

Herbology was pretty boring. Annabeth didn't pay attention. She was a child of Athena, not Demeter after all. Plants weren't her thing. She tended to, unintentionally, kill them.

Instead of listening, Annabeth conversed with Percy about his plans to explore the castle that night.

"What if we get caught?" Annabeth wondered out loud.

"We'll get detention. So? At least we won't get eaten by harpies." Percy made a good point.

"Okay. So what's your plan? Where are we going to go?" It was taking all of Annabeth's willpower not to take charge and make a perfect plan for exploring a giant castle in the middle of the night.

Percy hesitated at her question. "Uhhhh… I didn't really get that far…" Percy looked at his shoes.

"Alright, here's what we'll do…" Annabeth explained her pre-formulated plan to her clueless boyfriend. They would start with the upper floors and work their way down. A simple plan, not one of her best, but it would do. Besides, they were new students, if they got caught they could just say they got lost.

"So, after dinner?" Percy finished.

"No, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth chided. "You have detention, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." He looked at his shoes. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes. We're _trying_ to look like normal students, and normal students don't skip detention… or get expelled… or burn down the school."

"Alright!" Percy yelled, a bit too loud.

Professor Sprout looked over. Her face went from a cheery smile to a scowl, "Were you two listening?"

"Yes, Professor!" Percy called before Annabeth could stop him. He shouldn't have said that! Because now -

"You were? Excellent! Then you'll be able to tell me what purpose Mandrakes serves." Professor Sprout raised her eyebrows at Percy. Hermione's hand shot into the air.

He gulped and looked to Annabeth for help. She shook her head, "Go on, Perce, what's the answer?"

"Uh… It's, um…" He stammered.

"Right!" Professor Sprout shouted. "Let's listen in lesson next time, shall we?"

"Yes, Professor." Percy mumbled.

"Miss Granger, what _is_ the purpose of Mandrakes."

"Mandrakes are used to return those who've been petrified to their original state." Hermione answered.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. Now, back to our topic…" Annabeth zoned out. She thought of Camp Half-Blood, her siblings in Athena cabin, the seven. Mostly, her mind wandered to before the second Great Prophecy. A simpler time. Before Tartarus. Tartarus… _No!_ Annabeth thought harshly, _I will not think about that place._

She may have promised herself not to think about her and Percy's time in the depths of the Underworld, but her mind always seemed to bring up the memories, forcing her body into an intense shit down mode. A flashback. She wouldn't be able to move. She wouldn't hear anyone talking to her. The worst memories would force her to scream or collapse. The only people able to bring her out of it were Percy, and Jason and Thalia by shocking her. Percy had the same problem. Their flashbacks always seemed to happen at the worst times.

Like in the middle of Herbology for example.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note : Thank you for the suggestions in the reviews! Most of them made me do a double take thinking "Yes! Yes, that's genius!" or "Just you wait!". There was one person who said that a lot was happening on the first day and yes, I totally agree. I actually thought about spacing out the events more at first, then I completely forgot sooo… But lots** _ **does**_ **tend to happen at Hogwarts on the first day. But yes you were totally right. Percy and Annabeth will be trying very, very hard to act like normal wizards. Only, on the first day they tried, but they didn't realize how hard it would be. Bare with me. THANK YOU FOR READING, I ACTUALLY NEVER THOUGHT ANYONE WOULD READ THIS!**

 **Also, I had a basketball tournament all weekend and couldn't write. Sorry!**

* * *

Hermione didn't think Percy and Annabeth could get any stranger. She also really wanted to confront Annabeth about her nightmare/assault. Her arm would probably be bruised for a good week.

Of course, she was wrong about the two's strangeness and she wasn't scared of Annabeth **(Big mistake, Hermione)** , and would probably confront her in the dorms that night. She wouldn't be mean. Just ask what on earth she'd been through to be thrashing like that. The blonde didn't scare her at all. To Hermione, she looked like a muggle stereotype of a blonde: tall, tan, lean and not too bright, so far as she could tell. Yeah, she could take her in a duel. Annabeth didn't seem the type of person one could have an intelligent conversation with.

 _That's foolish_ , Hermione thought. _I've only known her a day!_

Still though, she wasn't sure of the other girl's brain power.

In Divination, Hermione had learned why Percy and Annabeth could see the invisible Thestrals. Kind of. She guessed that the names they were muttering were those of the dead, considering their reactions. She'd recognized several of the words and names Professor Trelawney had said, like _titan_ and _goddess_ and _Athena_ , but she, for the life of her, remember where. It was infuriating! She needed to go to the library after class.

But for now, Herbology. Professor Sprout began the lesson by quickly reviewing everything that they had done over the past years and was just introducing their new subject, when Percy, who had not been paying attention and was talking to Annabeth, yelled out, "Alright!"

Professor Sprout had not been very pleased with him and quizzed him on what they had just gone over. She asked what purpose Mandrakes served and he didn't know the answer. Of course, Annabeth was no help and Hermione was almost laughing, the answer was so easy. Finally, Hermione was able to answer for him, and the lesson continued.

Hermione was focused on the lesson the entire time. She barely even noticed when Percy and Annabeth left the greenhouse. She didn't think anyone else did either, not even Professor Sprout.

* * *

Finally, classes were over for the day. Hermione had no notes to study as no classes really did much on the first day, so she went straight for the library. Thinking that _Athena_ was definitely a name, she went right to the _A_ section. She scoured the shelves, only slowing when she hit books beginning with _At_.

 _Atomic Particles - A muggle study… No that's not it._ Hermione thought.

Finally she found a book titled _Athena, Goddess of Wisdom_.

 _Ah ha!_ She thought triumphantly, snatching the book from the shelf. She brought it over to a table in the corner, near where she'd been petrified in second year, and opened it.

 _Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom,craft and war. Her symbols are the olive tree and owls…_

Memories flooded back to Hermione. Everything she'd learned about the Greeks and Romans in muggle school. It was a lot, as she'd been fascinated by them. Suddenly, a couple of the lines Professor Trelawney had spoken seemed to make sense. The _titan's curse_ must be Atlas and his burden of the sky. _Child of Athena_ would refer to a demigod child of Athena. With her regained knowledge, Hermione looked through book after book, searching for anymore information to help figure out the other lines.

After what seemed like minutes, but was actually hours, the librarian politely asked Hermione to leave. She put her books back as quickly as she could, remembering her meeting with the boys and not wanting to be caught out of bed.

She took off down the corridor in the direction of Gryffindor tower.

A flash of movement caused her to stop suddenly. She thought she saw a glimpse of blonde hair turning a corner, but it was so fast, she figured it must've just been a ghost.

Hermione took the last steps two-at-a-time, panted the password and flew into the empty common room.

"Merlin's Beard, Hermione," Ron's familiar voice gasped. "Were you at the library that _whole_ time?"

"Maybe." She said confidently. She sat down on the couch next to them. "So, I found out what some of those lines meant."

"Me too." Harry said. "I overheard them talking after."

"I'll go first." Hermione explained what she'd pieced together about the Greek mythology.

"Okay, well Percy said those specific lines all predicted death." Harry said, and recounted everything else he'd heard. "Oh! And after Defense Against the Dark Arts, Annabeth was teasing Percy about getting detention and said he'd burned down two schools!"

"Bloody Hell." Ron muttered.

"Oh my God! Harry you have detention-" Hermione checked the time, "-five minutes from now!"

"Oh, no. Please don't make me go!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. He sighed and left reluctantly. "Come on," she said to Ron. "Let's get doing that Potions Essay."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note : I really hope this chapter is okay. I really tried to put myself into the characters to make their actions as honest as possible.**

* * *

Percy navigated his way through the halls towards detention, hoping they didn't change like the stairs did. He still couldn't believe he'd gotten detention on the first day. He didn't regret it though. How could Umbridge not believe Harry? It just didn't make sense. For Percy, if there was even the slightest chance a bad guy was alive, it would be taken as a quest right away. Although, getting detention and defending Harry seemed to have gained a little of his trust.

Percy found the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and entered, not caring to knock. As he stood in the doorway, he hesitated to go any further, his instincts telling him to run. Normally, Percy listened to his instincts as they had kept him alive so far. For a demigod, this feeling usually led to monsters, but Percy could hardly see how a monster could get in, him and Annabeth had been assured many times that the magical boundaries around the school extended to Greek and Roman monsters, but one could never be sure.

Percy heard footsteps behind him. He whirled, hand shooting to the pocket of his robes where he kept Riptide.

"Woah!" Harry jumped slightly at the speed of Percy's reaction.

"Heyyy Harry! What's up?" Percy said, trying to distract from the fact that his reflexes were impossibly fast.

"Nothing much," Harry eyed him suspiciously. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Percy nodded, wanted to jump forward in time to when he and Annabeth would be together, exploring the castle. Smile played across his lips, thinking about it.

"Hem, hem!" called an ugly voice. Percy whirled again to face Umbridge, who was standing at the top of the stairs leading to her office. Percy sighed and made his way across the room and up the stairs. Umbridge held the door open for him and Harry and they sat at the two single desks set up in the middle of the room. "You boys are going to be doing some lines today." Umbridge said. She placed pieces of parchment and quills in front of them.

Percy _still_ didn't understand why parchment, quills and ink were better than paper and pencils.

Harry moved to get ink from his bag, but Umbridge stopped him, "You won't need any ink."

Harry raised his eyebrows at first, then seemed to realize that the quill was probably magic. Umbridge began again. "I want you to write _I must not tell lies_. Both of you."

"How many times?" Harry asked.

"Until the message sinks in."

Percy picked up the quill and focused on writing the lines. The ink came out blood red and when he saw it, Percy's gut twisted. Something didn't feel right. But he kept writing.

About halfway through the first line, a slight itch appeared on Percy's right hand. He resisted the urge to scratch it and continued his lines, the itch fading after a the third line.

When Percy next looked at the clock, two hours had passed. He looked at his parchment. _Thirty lines?!_ He thought in disbelief. _In two hours?!_ Percy was slow but not this slow! How did that happen? He should've done over _one hundred_ lines by now. Percy noticed Harry glaring at Umbridge. Had he missed something? Oh well.

"Alright," Umbridge said, standing up from her desk. "That will be all. You may leave."

The boys stood, one trusting his hand in his robes as if to hide it, the other shouldering his bag and leaving.

Percy followed Harry back to Gryffindor Tower, making a mental note of any unique areas of the corridors for future reference.

* * *

The picture swung forward letting Percy and Harry in. Percy's eyes scanned the common room for Annabeth, and lit up when he saw her. He walked over and pulled her into a hug. "Hey."

"Hey." She said grabbing his hands in hers. Percy felt a slight sting in his right hand and winced before he could stop himself. "What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

Percy pulled his hands back to stare at his palms. As he turned his hands, he gasped.

Scrawled on the back of his right hand was the sentence _I must not tell lies_ in his hand writing. The letters weren't cut that deep but it was frightening.

"Oh my gods…" Percy muttered, putting two and two together. "That monster!" He seethed.

"Percy, what did she do to you?" Annabeth demanded.

"An enchanted quill." Percy tried to calm himself slightly. Umbridge was mortal. He wasn't supposed to hurt mortals. "It doesn't need ink because it draws your blood as ink. Harry!" Percy called, running over to him.

"I don't really want to talk right now Perc-"

"Hand. Now."

"Percy, there's nothing wrong with my-"

Percy grabbed Harry's arm and yanked it from his robes, exposing the cuts. "I knew it!" Percy growled. He let go of Harry and made for the Fat Lady painting. His vision went red. Umbridge would _not_ get away with this.

"Percy!" Annabeth spun him by the arm. "You can't! She's mortal!" She whispered.

"Annabeth, she can't just get away with this!"

"No, she can't. But don't do anything stupid. We'll come up with a plan while we're out tonight, okay? She'll be sorry she ever came here."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note : So, I had this idea when I was re-reading The Serpent's Shadow: Since it seems that a lot of Aphrodite kids go to the BAG, it would make sense that Piper might end up there. And we know that Piper and Drew dislike each other** _ **and**_ **that she is friends with Lacy. Who else is friends with Lacy? None other than Sadie Kane. So, what if Aphrodite(or Piper) got Tristan on board to send Piper there where she meets the young magician. Cue Piper and Lacy mentioning Annabeth and then… Yeah. Tell me in the reviews if you want me to write it.**

 **Sorry this is so late. I've been being abnormally social the past few days.**

* * *

Ron was fuming, and he had every right: Umbridge had physically harmed his best friend. The _teacher_ had _physically harmed_ a _student_! It was mad! Ron was so angry, he actually punched the wall. Nothing happened of course, he wasn't that strong. "How _dare_ she!" Hermione seethed, "And she's a teacher! Harry, you have to tell Professor Dumbledore!"

"No." Harry said.

"What?!" Ron cried. "Harry, she _cut_ words into your skin! That has to be illegal!"

"I'm not telling Dumbledore!" Harry yelled. The common room quieted, Percy and Annabeth looked over. Harry lowered his voice, "He won't listen."

"Won't listen? Harry, this is illegal! He'll listen this time!"

"NO!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron caught Percy and Annabeth muttering about something. They looked really, really ticked off. They turned their heads, glaring at Ron. Their glares made Ron want to scream and run away. How could two teenagers be so terrifying? Percy and Annabeth looked back at each other and Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Hermione spoke up, "Does Percy have it too?" she asked.

Harry nodded.

Ron couldn't take it anymore. He had to tell them. "Guys, there's something about Percy you should know."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Ron motioned for them to lean in, "He's a Death Eater. I saw his Dark Mark at breakfast this morning."

Hermione gasped. Harry's mouth dropped open. In the back of Ron's mind, he had a sense of euphoria; they hadn't second guessed him.

"But," Hermione gawked, "He seems so nice!"

"Guess it's too good to be true." Harry said. Was Ron hearing things, or was there a slight happiness in Harry's voice?

 _Of course!_ Ron thought, mentally slapping himself. Harry would want a reason to hate Percy for being with Annabeth. Now, Ron had just given him one.

"We need to find out more about them." Hermione said, watching Percy and Annabeth disappear up the stairs. "Ginny!" she called.

Ron's only sister came over to them, looking slightly confused. "Yeah?"

"What would you do if you needed to know more about someone?"

Ginny considered for a second, "Truth or Dare." With that, Ginny walked back to her friends.

"That's not a bad idea." Harry said, nodding. "How about we ask them to play tomorrow night? We could get Ginny to play too. You know, to make it less obvious."

"Perfect." Hermione got up. "I'm off to bed."

"Me too." Ron followed her out.

* * *

It was 12:30 am. Percy carefully got out of bed, already in his jeans, Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and shoes. Feeling comfortable in the familiar and _normal_ clothes, he snatched Riptide off the end table and slipped out the door, making no noise.

Annabeth was waiting for him in the common room. "Ready?"

He nodded. "You got your knife?"

"Yeah, but I'm still pretty sure I won't need it." **(Heheheheheheh)**

Percy stuck his tongue out at her, took her hand and dragged her out the door. Sprinting away from a screeching painting.

They made their way up to the top floor and weaved through the lengthy corridors. They would race through some and walk hand-in-hand through others, getting a feel for the school. A few times, Percy would peck Annabeth on the lips and run away, leaving both of them blushing.

* * *

By 2:00 am, they were down to the dungeons. They continued their playful nature until something made them stop dead in their tracks, and made Annabeth grateful she'd listened to her ridiculous boyfriend.

A low growl echoed through the damp air. A pair of yellow eyes peered out from the darkness of the corridor.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note : Sorry about the cliff hanger. While I'm at it, I'll also apologize for how late this is; I had a long week of violin recitals, swimming, basketball, CrossFit and hamsters. But now it's family day weekend! Monday off!**

* * *

The menacing eyes studied the two demigods, as if determining threat level. Percy and Annabeth went into battle stances instinctively. They didn't know how many of these monsters there were, but whatever they were, their diet mainly consisted of demigods. Nothing new.

The creature growled and moved over to the left. Where it had been, another set of the same eyes opened. Percy and Annabeth shifted into their familiar back-to-back position as Percy uncapped Riptide. Annabeth drew her dagger. She wished she'd brought her sword. But alas, the drakon-bone sword was still tucked away in her suitcase.

The monsters stepped closer, closing in, but also stepping into the dim glow of the Celestial Bronze weapons. Annabeth could just barely make out that they were red and spiky. Not the best description, but visibility was limited.

The monsters growled in unison, sending a shiver through Annabeth's body. These monsters were unfamiliar to her. She had no idea how to defeat them. She wished that one of them would step just an _inch_ closer so she could see them better.

Be careful what you wish for.

The monster closet to her jumped, quicker than she'd expected. It flew through the air and smashed her into the floor before she could blink. Part of her brain was scolding her for not being ready, while the other part was trying to get her dagger to stabbing proximity.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled.

"Don't!" She warned him. "Get the other!"

The monster on top of Annabeth bared it's fangs and brought them down to her neck right as she plunged her dagger into its thick hide. The monster burst into a shower of golden dust as usual and Annabeth sprang to her feet.

 _Woosh!_ Percy's sword cut the second one down. "Let's go somewhere else, shall we?" Percy said grabbing Annabeth's hand and pulling her along the damp, dungeon corridors.

* * *

Percy was breathing hard. He and Annabeth had just run from the dungeons all the way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"What were those things?" He asked his girlfriend. She always had the answers.

"I don't know." She said quietly.

"It's okay." He reassured her. Percy knew how much she hated not having the answer. The problem was, if she didn't know what they were, then they _certainly_ weren't Greek monsters. Percy hadn't seen them very well, but to him, they resembled Hell hounds, only blood red and covered in spikes. Their weak spot was the underbelly, as there were no spikes there.

"Well, other than the fact that this place keeps monsters in the same building as children," Percy said. "Did you learn the layout a bit better?"

Annabeth nodded. "My question is, _why in Hades_ are there monsters locked up in a _school?!_ "

"Seems like a zero on the safety test to me. I'm calling the union!"

Annabeth laughed and Percy went to kiss her when-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Percy and Annabeth spun on their heels to face the portrait of 'The Fat Lady'.

"Uh, we were just… Uh-"

'I should tell Dumbledore about this!" She shrieked. "Students aren't allowed out of bed _and_ you interrupted my beauty sleep!"

"Shhh!" Annabeth begged. "We're so sorry for waking you up! We'll never do it again if you let us in and don't tell McGonagall. Please?"

"Alright. But just this once and only because like you. For now."

"Thank you!"

Annabeth gave the password and the door swung open.

"It's like that thing with Frank back on the Argo," Percy remembered, laughing the memory of his friend's face after finding him and Annabeth sleeping soundly together in the stables.

"Gods, that was embarrassing." Annabeth smiled.

Percy longed to stay in this moment; just the two of them. No monsters, no goddesses threatening to destroy everything, no Titans wanting to do the same, and most importantly, they weren't in Tartarus. For those few seconds, life was good.

Ah, but being a demigod is never that easy. **(Heh heh heh)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that the entire story is seriously terrible.**

* * *

Harry had started to like Percy and Annabeth after that day. Percy had stood up against Umbridge for him, and it can't be easy starting a new school, in a new country **(Trust me, I'd know)**. Harry tried to empathize with them. He had to admit, he could see them becoming friends. HOWEVER, Harry would like them a lot more if they would stop getting up in the middle of the night!

Harry is a light sleeper, due in part to the Dursleys and his wizard instincts, so when Percy got out of bed in the middle of the night, Harry woke up just as he grabbed a pen off his nightstand and left, wearing muggle clothes. Harry waited until Percy left, then he snatched up his invisibility cloak and followed him, thankful he'd forgotten to take off his socks the night before.

Silently, he crept down the stairs.

Harry watched as Annabeth stood up from the couch by the fire. She was wearing the same t-shirt as Percy. "Ready?" she asked.

He nodded and raised an eyebrow, "You got your knife?"

Harry froze. _Knife?_ He thought. _Why would she need a knife?_

Harry's mind began racing through so many really stupid conspiracy theories that he missed most of Annabeth's reply. "- I won't need it." she finished, crossing her arms and giving him a knowing smile, almost teasing him.

He stuck his tongue out at her and grabbed her hand. His bare arm showing from the short sleeve of the orange t-shirt.

Harry clasped his hand over his mouth to keep from shouting.

Ron was right. The Dark Mark.

Harry had to admit, he hadn't quite believed his best friend at first - Ron had a history of jumping to conclusions - but there it was, clear as day.

Harry shot up from his hiding spot to run after Percy and Annabeth as they disappeared out the door. He raced down toward the stairway they'd taken, but as they reached the top with Harry about ten steps behind, the staircase only proved Harry's theory that the universe is against him.

The staircase creaked and moved, swinging across to connect to a different floor.

Harry looked around, trying to see the other two, but they were long gone. Harry sighed and returned to his room feeling defeated.

* * *

Annabeth's eyes opened slowly. Her head was pounding. She grabbed her forehead and groaned. Her vision was a bit fuzzy. She groaned again as she realized what had happened. When the monster had tackled her last night, she'd hit her head on the floor. It hadn't hurt then because of the adrenaline rush. That rush was gone now and Annabeth suspected she had a mild concussion.

She knew she had some ambrosia squares in her suitcase. She lifted her head to check who was awake but the room had other ideas. It spun, making Annabeth want to throw up. She sat up higher, steadying herself, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

Annabeth found that the only other girl awake was Hermione, but she was nowhere to be found. Carefully, trying to make it to the floor without face-planting, Annabeth slid off the bed and opened her suitcase.

"Come on, come on!" she muttered. Throwing clothes all over the floor. She glimpsed the corner of a plastic bag and pulled it out.

She broke off a small piece of a square and popped it in her mouth. Her vision cleared and her headache was gone. Annabeth decided to keep the ambrosia in her backpack from then on, in case she and Percy ran into some more monsters or if Percy got up to his usual shenanigans. Annabeth smiled thinking of all the times at Camp Percy had fallen or been tripped by the Stoll brother's pranks or just tripped over his own feet. She also remembered all the times she'd beat him so bad in sparring he'd needed Will's attention. But he always got back up, and that was one of the things she loved about him.

Annabeth yawned and went to the bathroom to get dressed and brush her teeth. She consulted her timetable for the day:

 _Care of Magical Creatures_

 _Transfiguration_

That was where Annabeth stopped caring. The only class that looked even mildly interesting was Care of Magical Creatures, and she was pretty sure the first day would be just theory.

Someone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Just a minute!" Annabeth called, piling her pajamas into her arms. She unlocked the door and came face-to-face with Hermione. She was about to move when she saw the bright purple bruise on the other girl's bicep. "Hermione, what happened?"

Hermione looked startled by Annabeth's question. "What?"

"What happened to your arm?"

"Like you don't know."

Annabeth gave her a puzzled look. She didn't know. "I-I don't…"

"You kicked me," Hermione said. "The other night, when you had that nightmare."

Annabeth couldn't say she was shocked, but she felt bad. "I'm really sorry about that. I promise it was an accident. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." And Hermione pushed past into the bathroom.

* * *

Annabeth and Percy followed the other students to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom. Their mission just ahead of them muttering about a Hagrid or something.

They entered the classroom and the teacher told them to sit wherever they wanted, so they sat at the back of the classroom. Why? Because it's the best place to plan revenge.

But they didn't get very far in their revenge, as the teacher sighed and said, "I didn't want this to be a theory lesson, but my monsters seem to have escaped, so we'll just have to learn about them without a practical."

The class groaned but got out their quills. The teacher, Percy couldn't remember his name, pulled out a black board with a bunch of writing on it and pulled down some posters of the so-called monsters.

Next to him, Annabeth muttered, "Oh, gods. Percy, look."

He looked and almost fell off his chair.

The pictures showed the exact animal that had attacked them in the dungeons.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to give me ideas on how to get revenge on Umbridge, because I have none.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Go check out my new story! It's the one I mentioned earlier, and it's called** _ **Heroes of BAG**_ **. I think it's cool… but you know… I'm not cool so I wouldn't know….**

* * *

"Can anybody tell me about these creatures?"

As expected, Hermione's hand shot up, like a NASA rocket after T-minus one second.

"Yes, Miss. Granger."

"These creatures are called _Zagificorüs_. Singular _Zagificori_." **(No, these are not real. No, I did not think ahead when writing about them. You can thank my baby brother for the name)**

"Correct! Ten points to Gryffindor-" Malfoy scowled in the back corner of the room. "-Now where are they originally from?"

Again, Hermione's hand shot into the sky. The teacher nodded to her and she answered, "The _Zagificorüs_ originate in Bulgaria, and legend claims that they migrated to Greece during the Roman times, but they were driven out."

"Excellent! But for ten points, who can tell me their rumored diet?"

Hermione was the only person as always, "In the old legends, they ate mostly demigods-" Percy actually fell off his chair when she said this. He stood up, blushing and apologizing while avoiding the death glares Annabeth and Hermione were giving him. "-But demigods don't exist-" Percy and Annabeth slid down a bit in their chairs. "-and they really eat Bowtruckles."

"Twenty points to Gryffindor for that excellent answer, Miss. Granger!"

Cheers erupted from the Gryffindors and groans from the Slytherins, especially Malfoy.

* * *

That night, after Percy's Transfiguration fiasco - where he'd accidentally turned himself into a guinea pig, much to Annabeth's amusement, and causing him not to talk to her until the end of class - Harry and his friends decided to ask Percy and Annabeth to play their previously planned game of Truth or Dare.

"Sure!" Percy said.

"Alright!" Harry said, and they sat down in front of the fireplace. "We just have to wait for Ginny. She shouldn't be long." The portrait swung open, revealing a girl about fourteen with the same features as Ron. Same red hair, same freckles, same nose. She came over.

"Hey," she said to everyone, then she turned to Percy and Annabeth. "I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm Ron's sister." She held out a hand.

"Annabeth Chase." Annabeth and Ginny shook hands.

"I'm Percy Jackson." He shook Ginny's hand too, but noticed she was laughing a bit. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said. "Just, our older brother's name is Percy."

"Oh." Percy said. "Cool."

"Let's get started, shall we?" Hermione said. "Who wants to go first?"

Ron raised his hand, "I will." He turned to Percy. "Truth or Dare?"

Percy looked to Annabeth, "What do you think, Wise Girl?"

She shook her head, "There's no way I'm choosing for you."

Percy pouted. "Truth, mostly because I don't want to get up."

"Okay," Ron said. "We'll start easy: what's your blood status?"

Percy looked to Annabeth, "You wanna answer for me?"

She shook her head, exasperated. "Half-blood. He's a half-blood."

Percy's eyes widened in alarm, "Annabeth-" But then he stopped, noticing that her response seemed totally normal with the others.

Annabeth leaned in and whispered to Percy, "I'll explain later."

Percy would realize only later that she'd said that in Ancient Greek. "Anyways, my turn… Annabeth! Darling! Truth or Dare?" Percy asked.

She narrowed her eyes, "Dare. Bring it on, Seaweed Brain."

"I dare you to let me turn _you_ into a _guinea pig_."

"I doubt you can, but sure."

"Is that a challenge!" He went draw his wand, and his eyes widened. He furiously began digging around in his pockets. " _Di immortales!_ " He yelled. "I may have left my wand somewhere…"

"Where?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know." He looked at Annabeth and gave her a scared smile. "Please don't hurt me."

She laughed. "I've been saying it for five years, and I'll say it again: your brain is full of seaweed."

He pouted. "Guess I'll get it tomorrow."

Hermione cleared her throat and produced her own wand, " _Accio_ Percy's wand!" After a minute, the wand flew through the window and smacked Percy upside the head.

"Ow." He complained. He picked up the wand and attempted the spell. Twice. It didn't work either time.

Annabeth laughed again, "See, this was why only the _boys_ were turned into guinea pigs. My turn." She examined all the possible targets and zeroed in on Hermione. "Hermione, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay. Good choice. What's your favourite book?"

Ron and Harry snickered. "Oo! Tough one! Hermione, you can't choose the whole library!"

She glared at them. She thought for a bit, then said, "Probably, To Kill A Mockingbird."

Percy groaned, "Annabeth, don't-"

"I love that book!" Annabeth said loud enough that all of Hogwarts probably heard her.

Hermione looked surprised, "You've read it?"

"Of course! It was the first book my mom ever gave me."

"ANYWAYS," Percy interrupted. "Before the rest of us die of boredom, Hermione, your turn."

She turned to Harry. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to…" She got a mischievous smile on her face. "Kiss Ron."

"No way!" Both boys yelled in unison.

Ron gagged, "I'm not kissing my best mate!"

"Come on," Percy teased. "I'll kiss _my_ best friend." He used his left hand to turn Annabeth's face to his and kissed her lightly on the mouth. They both smiled.

Harry grabbed Ron's hand and kissed it as if he were royalty. "You never said it had to be on the mouth."

Nobody noticed Ginny, whose face had turned as red as her hair.

Harry turned to Percy. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

Harry didn't need to think, he'd been wondering this since he'd met the other boy, "How powerful are your parents?" That question was a key part to knowing if he was truly a deatheater or not, powerful parents tends to equal deatheater.

Percy was taken aback. _What a weird question_ , he thought. "Well, my mom is a writer and my stepdad, Paul, is a teacher. They're not powerful, but my dad is, I guess."

Annabeth snorted, "You _guess_?"

Percy shrugged. "He's more powerful than your mom," He teased.

"Did you just go there?" she asked. "Because you know I'll kick your butt if you did."

Percy laughed, raising his hands in surrender. "Nope. I did not just go there."

"That's what I thought." Annabeth said before draping one of his raised arms over her shoulder and leaning into him.

Harry was discouraged. Percy hadn't given him the answer he'd wanted. But according to Hermione's face, she'd gotten the answer _she_ wanted.

"Ginny!" Percy said. "Truth or Dare!"

And the game carried on long into the night.

At one point, Ron made the mistake of asking Annabeth how many siblings she had. "Well," she said. "None, but on my dad's side I have two half brothers, and on my mom's side I have-" she counted on her fingers, "-ten half siblings."

Ron gaped. "T-ten?"

"Maybe more. I don't know what my mom's been doing these past months."

Percy laughed, "Probably attending seminars for geniuses and having very _interesting_ conversations. Poor people. Probably got a big shock when their baby didn't have a bellybutton."

Annabeth hit him. "Shut up! I don't know how, but I-"

"I'm just teasing, Wise Girl!" He kissed her cheek.

And that's how the game went. Eventually, Harry, Ron and Hermione forgot about their objective of getting information and ended up just having fun with the new students.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: My life is getting hella busy. Please don't be discouraged or angry if I don't post for a bit.**

* * *

Hermione was a bit annoyed. She acted like it, but she didn't believe the boys when they said Percy was a deatheater. If he was, why would he be so nice? And wouldn't Annabeth know? Hermione thought about that. _But would she?_ She thought. Percy probably wouldn't bring attention to it, or she did know and she was one too. Come to think of it, Hermione had never seen Annabeth's arms. She always covered them. And her legs. Her pajamas were sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt…

Hermione's brain searched for a logical explanation but there were too many pieces missing. She hated not having the answers.

Suddenly she had an idea. She'd need to get the boys on board, but she didn't think that'd be a problem.

* * *

"You want us to _what_?" Harry asked at the sound of her plan.

They were in the Gryffindor common room the night after the Truth or Dare game.

"Listen," she said. "You guys are my best friends and I'd follow you anywhere, but Ron, you only saw the tattoo for a split second, and Harry… well, your eyes aren't exactly your strong suit."

Harry adjusted his glasses and frowned. "Maybe not, but Hermione, this is insane! Last time you went near Annabeth while she was asleep you got hurt!"

"Doesn't matter!" Hermione whispered. "Besides, she was having a nightmare. Look, all you have to do is make _sure_ it's the Dark Mark and I'll check if Annabeth has one."

Harry nodded, but Ron seemed unsure. "I dunno, Hermione." He said. "Percy kinda scares me. Have you seen his glare? He could freeze Medusa!"

Hermione was a little impressed by his comparison, given Ron never listened in Muggle Studies or History of Magic, but she needed to know. "Just be really careful then, Ronald!"

"Alright," he muttered.

Hermione checked her watch. 12:46 am. _Perfect_ , she thought. "Right," she said, getting up. "It's time."

"Wait, you want us to do it now?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione was getting a bit annoyed at them now. "I thought I made that clear." And with that she crept up the stairs toward her dormitory.

* * *

Hermione tip-toed across the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. She managed to get to Annabeth's bedside without tripping or making any noise, and she drew her wand.

" _Lumos._ " She whispered and the tip of her wand glowed dimly.

Wand in her right hand, she used her left to gently pull up the sleeve of Annabeth's right arm.

Hermione gasped, then clamped her hand over her mouth.

There was no Dark Mark, but the other girl's arm was covered in scars. She pulled the sleeve back down and checked the other arm. Again, different sized white marks decorated Annabeth's forearm. Hermione stared at them.

Then Annabeth took a sharp inhale of breath and turned over. Hermione nearly jumped a metre in the air. She backed away, and went back down to the common room.

* * *

Harry and Ron watched Hermione as she crept up the stairs.

"Well," Ron said. "You heard her."

Harry shrugged and the two of them got up and silently climbed their own stairs. They didn't bother being quiet, as there was a loud snoring coming from the other rooms. It drowned out their movements.

They entered their own room and went over to Percy's bed, where he was sleeping soundlessly.

" _Lumos._ " Harry whispered, and his wand produced a familiar dim light. He raised it over Percy's arm as he pulled up his pajama sleeve while Ron did the other.

Harry and Ron's breaths caught. There was no Mark.

There was, however a tattoo. But it was not anything like either of them had seen before. It was four capital English letters: SPQR underlined above a big trident. But then something else caught Harry's eye. Little white lines littered both Percy's forearms.

Scars, and loads of them.

Harry and Ron locked eyes, both of them thinking _We need to tell Hermione!_ And they raced back down stairs.

* * *

When the boys arrived back in the common room, they found Hermione pacing and looking slightly panicked.

"Well?" She said when she saw them.

"No Dark Mark, but there is a tattoo. SPQR underlined and a trident thing." Harry said.

"And scars?"

"Loads. Hermione, did Annabeth have some aswell?"

She nodded. "It seemed like they might cover her whole body."

"What happened to them?" Ron wondered aloud. "And what the bloody hell does SPQR mean?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I'm sorry! SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY** **(Can you tell I'm Canadian?)** **SORRY! I'm so so sorry that this is so late. I've just had a lot going on and no inspiration. Please don't give up hope. AND if you read my other story** _ **Heroes of BAG**_ **that one may not be updated for a while.**

 **Sorry.**

* * *

Hermione raced towards the library at the end of potions the next day. She knew she'd seen SPQR somewhere. She asked the librarian, who pointed her towards the 'S' shelf saying, "I'm not sure Hermione dear, but have a look." and Hermione raced off.

"Soaps, Soups, SPQR, AHA!" She yelled in excitement, ripping the book from the shelf and racing to check it out.

* * *

Once back in her dorm room, Hermione sat on her bed and stared at the book. She wasn't sure what was stopping her. Was it really her place to snoop like this?

 _Maybe_ , she thought, _I'll just ask Percy what it means first!_

Deciding that this was the right thing to do, Hermione hopped off her bed and sneaked down to the common room to check if he was there. As she suspected, Percy and Annabeth were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, doing their homework as usual. Hermione walked over.

"Percy," Annabeth sighed, "this is literally so easy. You can't complain about a _foot_ of writing over a 10-page essay on _Hamlet_ or one of Chiron's 'surprise' Greek tests."

Hermione had to agree there. She _never_ complained about homework like her friends because of that exact reason. She'd rather write a foot of parchment and do O. than study _Romeo and Juliet_ and do about 10 GCSEs anyday.

"Uh," Hermione butted in. "Percy, could I talk to you about something?"

He looked up, "Yeah, sure, what's up?"

"I, uh, saw your tattoo-" Percy glanced at Annabeth. "-and I was wondering what it stands for?"

Percy's beach-tan disappeared for a moment. "Um… Yeah it stands for… Uhhh…"

Hermione raised her eyebrows, waiting. She didn't want to push, but she was getting a bit annoyed.

Then, Percy's eyes lit up. "Super Perfect Queen Reyna!" he shouted. **(Not mine, but I love it!)**

Annabeth burst out laughing. "I'm telling her you said that!"

"No!" he looked scared. Kind of. Whoever this 'Reyna' was, Hermione guessed she was scary on the outside, not so much on the inside.

"Right." Hermione said. "Thanks." And she took off to her dorm.

* * *

Hermione ran through the door towards her book.

Then she heard the laughter.

The other girls were already there.

"Hey Hermione!" Lavender Brown called. "Wanna play?"

Lavender and the other girls - minus Annabeth - were playing wizard chess.

Hermione shook her head. Disguising her SPQR book in amongst her others, she took out some homework that was due the next month and began finishing it.

* * *

Hermione never got the chance to read her book that night, but luckily, nobody noticed it. She did, however, pack it into her school bag just in case she got the chance to read it during the day.

Hermione ran down to breakfast.

"Well?" Ron asked when she sat down.

"I found a book, but I also asked Percy."

"And?" Harry leaned in.

"He just said 'Super Perfect Queen Reyna', I think."

"Well is that what it is then?" Ron looked disappointed.

"I don't think so because Annabeth just laughed at him."

"That's good then, innit? It means he's hiding something." Harry said. "I mean, it's not good but it means we're not just overreacting."

"Guess so." Hermione nodded. "Shh! They're coming!"

As Percy and Annabeth sat down, Harry changed the subject.

"Can't wait for Muggle Studies today." He said.

"Yeah." Ron laughed. "Should be fun!"

Hermione wanted to scream. Could they be more obvious!

Luckily, Percy and Annabeth either didn't notice or were good at hiding their emotions because they just nodded.

"Finally, a class I won't fail!" Percy laughed.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione filed into the Muggle Studies classroom with the other Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws, and found a spot in the middle of the room.

As usual, Percy and Annabeth sat in the back.

"Right!" Professor MacMillan **(I honestly don't know if this is the right teacher.)** yelled to the class. "Welcome back students, welcome new students. Yes, Perseus and Annabeth. Dumbledore has told me all about you."

Harry looked back at the two, who'd gone white as a bed sheet.

"So! I've decided to start with something you two will be familiar with: Ancient Rome!"

Harry watched the colour return to Percy and Annabeth's faces slightly. They breathed a visible sigh of relief.

Professor MacMillan took out some photographs and showed them to the class. "Miss Chase! Can you please tell me who this goddess is and a little bit about her?"

Annabeth looked at the picture. The class looked at her. Suddenly, rage flew across her face, before disappearing back to her usual awfully scary neutral look.

"That's the goddess Juno. She's the wife of Zeus- I mean Jupiter and she's the goddess of marriage and-" Annabeth looked up at the ceiling, the rage returning, and yelled "-RUINING PEOPLE'S LIVES!"

Thunder shook the castle. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky. And then it was over.

Everyone stared at Annabeth. She had resumed her neutral look. "Also, her Greek equivalent is Hera."

Percy looked unsurprised by what had just happened, like it was normal for his girlfriend to be angry at Roman gods.

"Correct!" Professor MacMillan said. "Perseus!"

"It's Percy, please, sir."

"Very well, Percy. Who's this?"

He held up another picture.

Percy smiled. "Neptune. Best of them all in my opinion. Though none of them are very good." More thunder. "He's the god of the oceans and all that. To the Greeks, he's Poseidon."

"Correct!"

Professor MacMillan continued to quiz other students, but none - not even Hermione - came close to being as knowledgeable, and salty, about Roman gods and mythology as Percy and Annabeth.

* * *

Hermione raced down the stairs. She spotted Ron and Harry by the fireplace and, taking them both by the arm, pulled them out of Gryffindor Tower and into an empty classroom.

"Bloody Hell, Hermione!" Ron seethed. "What was _that_?"

"SPQR. I know what it means!" She pulled the book out from her bag and flipped to the first page of content. "Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. The Senate and People of Rome."

"Okay…" Harry said, the information flying over his head.

"Harry, _this_ is why they know so much about mythology! They're Roman or something!"

"Roman?" A voice came from the doorway. "Like... demigods?"

"Neville!" Hermione yelled. "You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry, it's just, I walked in and overheard what you were saying."

"Wait." Ron said. "What did you say before, _demon_ -gods?"

"What? Oh! No!" Neville said. " _Demi_ -gods. Like from the stories. Except they're not. Well, the Roman ones aren't."

"Neville don't be daft." Hermione said.

"I'm not!" He protested. "My second cousin is one."

"What?"

"Yeah. Reyna and her sister."


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Sorry about the lateness! School. (I've also been seriously considering deleting this and starting over. I need a legit story line.)**

* * *

"Your… second cousin… is a demigod…?" Hermione said slowly.

"Yeah. Well, she's not _actually_ my second cousin, she's a family friend, but my grandma always _said_ we were second cousins until Reyna and Hylla went missing about ten years back."

"Oh. Neville, I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine." He waved her off. "We found them again. Reyna's living in California-" Harry and Ron shared a look. _California_. "-And Hylla's traveling. I went to visit Reyna last summer with my grandmother and accidently overheard a phone conversation. Reyna was talking to some guy named Frank about demigods and quests so I asked her and she told me that demigods are real and she is one. A daughter of the roman goddess of war. I was surprised that she even told me, but-"

"Neville stop." Hermione interrupted. "Just stop right there."

"I'm not lying."

"I… don't know what to think."

"It's true. And I'm pretty sure Percy is one."

"What?!" Harry, Ron and Hermione all gasped.

"Yeah, I heard Reyna mention a guy named Percy, and how many can there be, I mean-"

"Neville." Hermione said.

"Right, sorry. I'll stop."

"Do you have concrete proof of what you've just said?"

"'Course." He went over to the sink at the other side of the classroom and turned it full-blast, so the water sprayed everywhere. He stepped back and produced a large gold coin from his pocket. He took out his wand. " _Lumos!_ " He said, and aimed his now lit wand tip at the water spray and created a rainbow. Keeping the wand steady, he said, "O, Iris please accept my offering!" and threw the coin into the rainbow.

Hermione waited for it to pass through and fall to the floor. It didn't.

The coin disappeared. Neville spoke again, "Show me, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Camp Jupiter!"

Suddenly, a girl appeared. Maybe 16 or 17, She was sitting at a desk in a dimly lit room writing sharpening a sword, dark brown hair tied in a tight french braid behind her head. She looked tired.

"Reyna!" Neville called.

The girl jumped up, sword ready, her obsidian black eyes darting around. Then she spotted Neville and she seemed to relax. Slightly. "Hey, Neville." She had a slight accent. Spanish maybe? Hermione couldn't tell.

"Hey!"

"Neville, not to be rude, but why are you calling?" Reyna asked.

"To prove demigods are real."

"What?!" Reyna demanded. "Who's there with you?"

"Just my friends."

"Let me see."

Neville stepped back and beckoned Harry, Ron and Hermione forward.

"Alright, listen." She said, voice cold and sharp. "You three can not tell anyone about this call, or I will have my eagles hunt you down and kill you where you stand."

Hermione gulped. Reyna didn't seem the joking type.

"So it's true then?" Ron said. "You're part god or sommit?" **(For those who don't know: 'sommit' is 'something'. It's British slang.)**

"Well, I suppose there's no denying it now. Yes, I am."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry, but that's not possible. Gods are just fictional deities from ancient civilizations!"

Thunder boomed in the sky. Lightning crackled outside the classroom window.

"Be careful, mortal." Reyna said. "They dislike being called anything other than _amazing_ , _powerful_ , _all-knowing_ etcetera."

Hermione looked like she was about to faint. Ron and Harry quickly grabbed a chair from a nearby desk. Hermione sat down hard.

Reyna smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, I understand it's a lot to take in."

"Really? Hadn't noticed." Hermione said, quietly.

Reyna chuckled. "So, Neville, where are you?"

"Hogwarts." Neville said as if it should be obvious.

Reyna paled. "I'm sorry _where_?"

"Hogwarts. My school."

Reyna regained her composure. _There's something she doesn't want us to know!_ Ron thought.

Suddenly, another voice came from the other side of the mist-image thing. "Reyna?" It called.

"I've got to go. Goodbye Neville." She waved her hand and disappeared.

Neville turned off the tap. "Well?"

"Oh…" Hermione muttered. "Library. Now." She tried to get up, but Ron and Harry pushed her back down.

"It's closed, Hermione." Harry reminded her.

"Besides. You need sleep." Ron added.

"You're right." She nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Percy was finishing brushing his teeth when he heard a familiar sound. He silently thanked the gods that the other boys were in the common room.

" _Perseus Jackson, you have a collect call from Camp Jupiter._ _Please deposit one drachma._ " Percy withdrew one from his pocket, wondering why only he ever had to pay and nobody else seemed to, and threw it through the mist that had appeared above his sink.

"Percy! Thank the gods you answered." Reyna's face had appeared in front of him.

"Why?" He asked. "Reyna, what's wrong?"

"Where are you right now?"

"That school. Hogwarts. Why?"

"They know."

"What? Who? Know what?"

"The redhead, glasses and the girl! The ones you're there for!"

"Reyna," Percy said. "What do they know?"

"They know about Roman demigods!"

"How?!" Percy demanded.

"Neville Longbottom. He's an old family friend who found out just after the war."

"Oh gods…"

"Where's Annabeth?" Reyna asked.

"She's in the common room."

"Tell her. I have to go. You're no longer safe."

"Were we ever?" Percy sighed.

"Goodbye Percy." And she was gone.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this is so short and bad, but IT'S CANADA DAY AND I'M GOING TO WATCH SOME FIREWORKS!**

* * *

Percy threw his toothbrush down and raced downstairs, forgetting that he was wearing only his blue pegasus pajama pants and Camp Half-Blood clay bead necklace.

Annabeth was sitting on the couch, watching the fire, looking over her sketches for Mount Olympus. Percy leaped over the couch, landing inches from the mouth of the fireplace.

Annabeth didn't look up. "Not that I don't appreciate your abs, Perce," she said. "But is it so hard to put on a shirt?" She looked up at him smiling.

The smile faded as soon as she saw the panic on his face.

"What? What is it?" She demanded. "What's wrong?"

"Not here!" He took her hand and pulled her out of the common room, down the empty hall and into a broom cupboard.

"What happened, Percy?" Annabeth demanded.

Percy took a deep breath to calm himself. "Reyna called. They know."

"Who knows what?"

"Harry, Ron and Hermione. They know about the Romans!"

"What?!" Annabeth gasped. "How?"

"Apparently, Neville is a family friend of Reyna's. Guess he found out, caught her off guard or something."

"This is _not_ good."

"Well, they only know about the Romans… Annabeth?" Percy stopped. She was no longer paying him any attention.

Her mouth dropped open and he followed her gaze.

They were standing in a large empty room with only a few chairs, a ping pong table and a can of Cheese Wiz with crackers.

"Oh my Gods…" Annabeth whispered. "It's like…"

"I know." Percy said. "But I thought this was just a broom cupboard…"

"Percy, this room doesn't exist. I've looked over the floor plan of the castle and I've never come across this."

"Where are we?"

* * *

Harry and Ron dragged Hermione between them back to Gryffindor Tower. Neville walked with them.

"Neville?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah?"

"Does Reyna have a tattoo?"

"Yeah."

"What does it look like?"

"It's a sword crossed with a torch above the letters SPQR and a bunch of lines."

"What does it mean?"

"Well," Neville said. "The torch and sword are the symbol of Bellona, her mother, the Roman goddess of war. The SPQR part is something about Rome and the lines are for how many years she's been in New Rome."

"What's New Rome?" Ron asked.

"Where the Roman demigods live."

"Really?"

"Kind of. They train in Camp Jupiter, but some stay and go to school and work in New Rome."

"School?"

"They have a university."

"Oh…" Hermione muttered. She seemed to be drifting between states of consciousness. "Percy and A.. Annabeth… school in California…"

Harry was too tired and his mind was still scattered in pieces so he didn't get what she meant until later.

* * *

 **HAPPY CANADA DAY! 150 years of this amazing country!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: I hate this… I should've done a plot line… I'm mad at myself… GAH!**

* * *

Harry and Ron managed to drag Hermione up to the girls' dorm stairs and hand her off to Ginny. "I don't want to know," Ginny said as the boys began to speak. "Just go to bed."

They nodded and headed to their own room. Harry quickly changed and flopped down on his bed.

Ron did the same.

Neither boy spoke, for they didn't know quite what to say. Neville was already fast asleep. Percy's bed was empty.

* * *

Harry's destroyed brain somehow managed to dream that night.

He was floating above a dimly lit room, the only light coming from some torches and a large gold and ivory statue of a woman. Below him, he could see a girl, Annabeth, crouching next to what looked like a giant version of Chinese handcuffs made of a silky white material. Annabeth had a smirk on her face. The handcuffs thrashed around wildly. Annabeth stepped back. Harry realized that there was someone - _something_ \- inside the trap. He caught a glimpse of red and black. Then he saw pincers.

A spider. A giant spider, bigger than Aragog. Harry wanted to help it. How could Annabeth do that to an innocent creature?

The spider continued thrashing. It shot a strand of web and pulled something Harry couldn't see. The spider started ripping at the weaving. It rolled around, shooting webs all around the room. Harry was beginning to root for the spider. He wanted it to get out of it's trap.

The cavern shook.

Annabeth's smug look turned to panic. "Stop that!" she tried to walk away. That was when Harry saw the collection of wood planks and bubble wrap expertly tied around her ankle.

"You'll bring down the whole cavern and kill us both!" Annabeth yelled.

"Better than seeing you win!" The voice came from inside the trap. It was female, yet definitely not human. "My children! Help me!"

Thousands of smaller spiders came rushing out from the shadows. The statue glowed brighter.

"Arachne!" Annabeth yelled. "Stop it! Or I'll-"

She didn't get to finish before the spider, Arachne apparently - the name sounded familiar - twisted around in the handcuffs and shot a string of silk that hit Annabeth squarely in the chest, knocking her off her feet.

Harry realized then that he the spider had been trapped for a reason, and he felt bad for rooting for it, as it was clearly trying to kill Annabeth.

Arachne began to pull Annabeth towards her. Annabeth whipped out a gold dagger and slashed at the web. She crawled away, little spiders surrounding. Harry remembered when him and Ron had been chased by spiders… it was not something he was eager to do again.

Suddenly the cavern ceiling exploded, and it began to rain cars.

Sunlight burst into the cavern, lighting up the scene below Harry. Annabeth was covered in scratches and dirt.

A car bounced off the statue and towards Annabeth, Harry wanted to scream out, warn her, but his voice wouldn't work and he couldn't move. Luckily, Annabeth managed to jump out of the way. Harry gasped as a large red car slammed into the spider and took her through the floor, disappearing into a dark abyss. The spider screamed. All the small spiders had disappeared.

A familiar voice rang out from a boat that had come down into the hole in the ceiling.

Harry blinked. A floating boat.

"Annabeth!" It was Percy's voice. Harry could see him on the deck of the boat.

"Here!" She yelled, sobbing. Annabeth limped toward the boat. Harry noticed some webbing around her ankle trailing off into the hole.

The next part of the dream seemed to fly by: five unfamiliar kids and a grown man began running around frantically, securing the statue to their boat. Harry thought he saw one turn into a large bird and another one fly.

Suddenly, Percy, Annabeth and two other kids were left in the cavern, one on a ladder. Annabeth tried to walk toward the ladder and stumbled.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

Harry wanted to scream. Could they not see the web?

Annabeth's legs gave out and she began to be dragged toward the hole.

"Her ankle!" the girl on the ladder shouted. "Cut it! Cut it!"

Percy didn't seem to realize what she meant.

Suddenly, Annabeth shot backwards towards the hole. Percy lunged.

Harry's breath caught.

Annabeth kept moving, Percy, who had grabbed her arm, was dragged along. Annabeth's legs went over the edge.

"No," Percy muttered. "My sword…" Harry didn't see any sword near him.

And then they slipped over the edge.

Harry's perspective changed: he was now directly above Percy and Annabeth. Percy had managed to grab a small ledge, in his other hand he held Annabeth's wrist.

A voice surrounded them: _No escape. I go to Tartarus, and you will come too_.

Harry wanted to cry. It all felt so real, and they were too far down to be saved.

A pale face leaned over the edge.

"Percy," Annabeth croaked. "Let me go. You can't pull me up."

"Never." Percy looked up at the boy above them. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"

The boy somehow got even paler. "But-"

"Lead them there! Promise me!"

Nico's voice shook, "I-I will."

Whatever Percy said next was lost to Nico and the girl on the ladder's screams.

Percy let go of the edge, and Harry watched in horror as he and Annabeth disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Harry shot up, wide awake.

He was in bed, in Hogwarts.

"It was a dream," he whispered harshly to himself. "Just a dream."

Harry found his glasses and looked at the time: 2:47 am.

He sighed and got out of bed.

"You too, huh?" came Percy's voice.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. "Me too... what?"

"Nightmares."

"Oh... Yeah."

"I'll let you get back to sleep." Percy laid down and pulled the covers up to his chin.

Harry bolted to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and took a deep breath. _It was just a dream_.

* * *

Back in Gryffindor Tower with Percy, Annabeth began looking for her maps of Hogwarts.

Percy went to bed.

Alone in the common room, adrenaline coursing through her veins, Annabeth laid out all her maps. She found the map of the seventh floor layout, and threw all the others onto the floor.

Reaching absent mindedly for a pen and notepad, all her hand landed on was a quill, ink and a roll of parchment.

Annabeth growled. "Why?" she demanded out loud. It didn't make sense to her to use a quill and ink over a pen.

She sighed and snatched up the parchment. She scribbled about the seventh floor, the room and it's location, how she and Percy had found it, and how when they'd left, they couldn't find the door.

Annabeth heard someone coming down the stairs. Quick as a flash, she grabbed up everything, turned out the light, hurdled the table and hid behind the arm chair in the corner.

It was Harry. Annabeth held her breath as Harry came into the room. He lit a lamp, grabbed some parchment, a quill and ink and began writing something. Quietly as she could, Annabeth crept out of the common room and to her dorm.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note : Currently drowning in schoolwork.**

* * *

Furiously, Harry scribbled out a letter to Sirius, detailing the dream, not leaving anything out. He knew it was risky, sending a letter like that with all the precautions and random checks but he had to tell someone. He left out the part about Roman demigods. He wanted to tell Sirius that in person. He'd tell Ron and Hermione in the morning, but writing it down made it sink into his brain a little more, made sure he'd remember every detail. It was unlike any dream he'd ever had; even the one in fourth year about Peter Pettigrew and the old man. It just felt so much more _real_. There were more emotions. He didn't know what was going on, but he could tell it was bad. Based on dream Percy and Annabeth's reactions, they thought they were going to die.

Harry wanted so bad to just write it off as some crazy fabrication of the subconscious, but he knew it was more than that. He'd just witnessed a real event, and based on dream Percy and Annabeth's significantly less scarred appearances, he guessed it had happened within the last year. He needed to know more. They'd been through something, something bad, and Harry was going to figure out what… With Hermione's help, of course.

* * *

"I say we confront them," Hermione said, buttering her toast. "Pass the jam?"

Ron passed the small container over. "Okay, yes, I agree, but what exactly will we say? 'Hey are you the children of Roman gods?' And what if we get it wrong?"

"If we get it wrong we can just make it into a joke," Harry suggested.

"That could work," Hermione said. "When?"

"How about tonight?" Harry said, biting a sausage.

"How, though?"

"I dunno."

"Oh!" Ron exclaimed. "What if we ask to study with them, ya'know, for the potions test, and just keep them there until everyone's gone. Then we can ask them. Plus, I need help with the Herbology essay."

"Good idea, Ron." Hermione said, patting him on the back. "If that doesn't work maybe we'll just get them later. Petrify them, then levitate them."

"Excellent," Harry said. "One other thing. I had a dream last night."

Harry described the dream in detail, not leaving out a single thing. When he was done Ron looked quite confused.

"What?" Ron asked, eyebrows raised. **(u wot m8) ( Why am I like this?)**

Hermione seemed concerned. Harry figured she would ask if he was feeling okay. She surprised him. "Ohhh…" She muttered to herself, coming to some kind of conclusion.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Ron teased.

"It all makes sense now. Harry, you heard the word Tartarus?"

Harry nodded. "Why? What's wrong?"

"According to Greek and Roman mythology, Tartarus is the place monsters go when vanquished. It's supposedly a bottomless pit. It's said to be the most terrifying place ever. If Percy and Annabeth went there _and survived_ , it explains the first day of school and Annabeth's nightmare that night. It explains everything."

"What's so terrifying about it?" Ron asked.

"Nobody knows. No human has been down there and survived. Not even mythology's greatest heroes will go even to the Underworld, let alone Tartarus. I've got to go to-"

"Just go," Ron cut her off, pointing out the door.

"Meet me there after potions, during our spare."

* * *

As instructed, Harry and Ron met Hermione in the library during their spare period. She was sitting alone at a table in the back corner of the room, far from prying eyes.

Hermione had a large book out to a page titled: _Tartarus_. "This was all I could find about it," Hermione said. "Basically, in the myths, Tartarus was a deity who had some children with another deity named Gaea. Gaea's basically Mother Earth. Anyway, there's not much information here, but what I've gathered is that Tartarus was sort of the deity of the Underworld, Gaea the Earth, and Ouranos the sky. Basically, the Pit of Tartarus is said to be full of horrors the human brain can't even fathom, but that doesn't matter because the fall will kill you first."

Harry was trying desperately to keep up. He got the gist of it: Tartarus = bad. He read a little caption in the margin. "Nine days to get there?" That was crazy.

"Harry, all of this is guess work. Nobody knows anything for sure. If your dream was real, Harry, Percy and Annabeth are lucky to be alive. They're lucky they're still sane, still functioning. All those outbursts on the first day of classes are side-effects of their experiences. And the whole demigod thing? That's why they know so much about the gods. And uf they did fall to Tartarus, that's probably why they survived: demigods are supposed to be really powerful."

"Merlin's beard," Ron muttered. "That's why they're in fifth year, in't it? They don't know magic at all. That's why they defended you, Harry; they haven't been told anything else."

"The question now is: why are they here?"

It was all becoming clearer and clearer for Harry, as if his glasses had been foggy and now that he'd wiped them on his sleeve, he could see everything for what it was. But there was still that little bit, that part in the corner that he'd missed, and it was bugging him.

* * *

That night, up in Gryffindor Tower, the plan began. Like they wanted, Harry, Ron, and Hermione managed to get Percy and Annabeth to study with them. The girls took over the studying right away. Hermione fell into her routine of yelling at Harry and Ron for copying her Herbology essay, while Annabeth seemed to have a completely different method for helping Percy. She drew up a quiz quickly - well, not that quickly, Harry noticed her frustration at misspelling words - and started to ask Percy the questions. If that had been it, Percy wouldn't have focused. The twist was: every time Percy got a question right, Annabeth would kiss him. Percy got all of them right, smirking every time, knowing he was correct. This sudden spur of correct answers did not deter Annabeth, but made her happier.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were struggling; Hermione had turned so they couldn't read her page, and now had a paperback book next to her, so if she caught them looking, she could strike them over the head. Eventually, she drew up two copies of her own quiz and made Harry and Ron take it in silence. Well, not quite silence. _They_ weren't allowed to talk, but Percy and Annabeth's laughter from half a metre away was quite distracting. They were facing the fire, cuddled together, reading from the textbook, Percy cracking dumb jokes.

After they finished the chapter, Annabeth put the book down and Percy pulled her closer. They stared at the bright flames in sombre silence. If Harry had any doubt that something bad had happened to them, it disappeared as he watched them. Ron was oblivious; he scrawled on, finishing Hermione's little quiz. Hermione, however, had joined Harry in watching the young couple on the floor before them. Harry realized she was probably thinking the same thing he was. Percy and Annabeth began to move again, Annabeth tilting her head up to kiss Percy on the cheek.

"I'm tired, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

"Me too," he said. He stood up.

Annabeth stayed on the floor, lying down.

"Annabeth, get up, I'll walk you to bed."

"Too tired. Can't move." She stretched out on the floor and yawned dramatically.

Percy smirked. He caught Harry's eye and winked, then he reached down and picked Annabeth up. She was fine with that until Percy changed her position, slinging her over his shoulder.

"Percy!" She tried to get down. "Put me down!" But her cry was drowned by the sound of her own laughter. Percy disappeared up the stairs, Annabeth still slung over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Well," said Ron. "Guess it's Plan B then."

Hermione nodded. "Yep. I really didn't want it to come to this."

* * *

At three in the morning that same night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione crept into the common room to convene.

"Right," Hermione whispered. "Annabeth is sound asleep - tossing a bit, but not a lot."

"Percy's the same; out like a light," Ron whispered back.

"We all clear on the plan?" Hermione asked.

The boys nodded.

"Right, let's get to it."

Hermione watched as the boys disappeared up towards their dorm. She started to climb the stairs to her own, heart pounding with nerves and guilt. Hermione suddenly realized she didn't know where to take Percy and Annabeth to question them, she hadn't thought that far ahead. Seventh floor maybe? She'd figure it out.

Hermione reached her door. She opened t slowly, making no noise. Lavender was snoring. Hermione approached Annabeth's bed. She was muttering something about Gaea and… Leo? Hermione knew one of those names. She drew her wand and pointed it at Annabeth. She hesitated. What if spells didn't work on demigods? What if she had it completely wrong? What if they were dangerous?

" _Petrificus Totalus."_


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: I am writing this in lieu of reading** _ **Le Bossu de Notre Dame**_ … **Sorry French teacher.** _ **Heroes of BAG**_ **is coming, I promise.**

* * *

"Merlin's beard, he's heavy," Ron grunted as him and Harry carried a petrified, sleeping Percy down the stairs towards the common room. They almost made it without hitting poor Percy's head against any walls. Almost.

Hermione was waiting for them by the painting. Harry was astounded: how did she carry Annabeth down all by herself? Annabeth, who lay sleeping on the floor just beside her, looked untouched; no scratches, no bumps, no bruises.

"Took you long enough," Hermione said.

"How'd you do it so quick?" Ron asked.

"Levitation charm? Duh."

Harry hit himself in the head with his free hand. "Levitation charm," Harry repeated. He turned to Ron. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Because you two are thicker than the castle walls," Hermione answered with an exasperated sigh. Ron stuck his tongue out at her. "Come on then," she continued. "We're going to the seventh floor."

With a flick of Hermione's wand, Annabeth floated up off the floor and followed Hermione out the passage, ignoring the scolding of the Fat Lady. Ron sighed and uttered the incantation. Now it was Percy's turn to levitate out into the corridor. Ron was muttering something about being tired and forgetful.

"Just where do you think you're going?" The Fat Lady called after them. They ignored her and continued on their way.

"Hermione," Harry said. "Where exactly are we going?"

"I told you, seventh floor."

"Yes, but _where_ on the seventh floor?"

"That empty classroom, you know, the one _way out of the way that no one goes to_." **(Bish you thought)**

Harry knew; it was an old muggle studies classroom tucked in the very back of the corridor, far from the staircase. Fred and George sometimes used it for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Once inside, door closed, Ron and Hermione put Percy and Annabeth onto some chairs while Harry was made to push a bunch of desks out of the way. He found a box of prank sweets and pocketed a few. Hermione brought out a length of rope from her robes.

"Hang on, what's that for?" Harry asked.

"They're demigods, they could be dangerous," Hermione said. "And, we've just kidnapped them, so I don't get the feeling that they'll be very happy."

"She's got a point," Ron agreed

"Well, should we check them for weapons?" Harry asked.

"I suppose so," Hermione said, drawing her wand. "I should've checked her luggage for weapons." Hermione motioned to Annabeth.

Harry set to work. All he found on Percy was a muggle ball point pen, like the ones he used to use in muggle school.

"What's that?" Asked Ron when Harry held it up.

"Oh, right," Hermione breathed. "It's called a pen. It's a muggle tool. It's quite like a quill except you don't have to dip it in ink every three words."

"Wow… We should get some for Hogwarts."

Harry could've sworn he heard Hermione say, "Tell me about it."

Harry put the pen down on a nearby desk, not giving it a second thought. He went to check Annabeth, but Hermione stepped in. "Maybe I should check Annabeth."

Harry flushed. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea."

Annabeth was clean. Hermione muttered a spell and the rope began to bind the demigods to the confines of the chairs.

"I guess we should un-petrify them," Hermione said. "Here goes." She turned to Annabeth first, feeling that she could probably take her in fight much better than she could if Percy got loose. **(Ha you wish)**

Annabeth went slack for a second, still asleep. The next moment she was thrashing against the rope. She stopped and looked up. She showed no astonishment whatsoever at just who had kidnapped her. "Figures," she muttered. Then she noticed Percy. She paled, something changed in her eyes, the usual grey clouds had turned dark; there was a storm coming. "What did you do to him?" Annabeth demanded.

"Relax, he's just petrified." Hermione quickly un-petrified Percy. He too, fought his bonds. He quickly noticed the situation and stopped. Annabeth's eyes stayed stormy and Percy seemed to pick up on it.

"What's happening?" He asked, looking to Annabeth. She shrugged.

"We just want to ask you a few questions," Ron said.

"Oh," Percy said. "I had nothing to do with the broken window!"

"What? What broken window?" Ron said.

"Oh… uh… did I say broken window? I meant broken table! The one that moves… heh heh."

"We can deal with this later," Hermione cut in. "We know."

"You know? I swear it was an accident, I didn't mean-"

"No!" Hermione yelled. "We know your secret!"

Percy went quiet, him and Annabeth looked at each other. Annabeth gave Percy a look he knew all too well: _Let me handle this_. "What secret?" she asked.

"You're demigods."

Annabeth looked completely taken aback. "What?"

Percy had the same look. "Where did you come up with _that_?"

"We know, cut the act," Hermione continued. "You're Roman demigods."

"No," Percy said shaking his head. "Definitely not."

"Where is this coming from?" Annabeth asked. "Are you guys feeling okay?"

"Stop!" Harry said. "Reyna Arellano told us. She's a friend of Neville's."

Percy cringed internally: nobody used any of Reyna's second names. Ever. She would cut you for it. "Who?" Percy asked.

"Your friend, Praetor of New Rome?" Ron said. "Dark hair, looks like she could kill you."

Percy slipped up, "Oh, she could definitely kill you." He realized what he'd said. "Er, I'm guessing."

Harry's eyes widened. So it was true. "You know her," he said. "You've mentioned her before, and you have the same tattoo as her. Just admit it."

"Admit what?" Annabeth asked. "I don't understand where this is coming from. We aren't Roman demigods or whatever."

"Yes you are!" Hermione yelled. Harry wondered if she was being too loud. What if they woke somebody up? "SPQR, _Senātus Populusque Rōmānus_. The Senate and the People of Rome. It's clearly that! Plus the trident? You're Neptune's son, aren't you?"

This was new to Harry. Since when did they know who his parent was?

Percy laughed. "Neptune is not my dad. Close, I guess. My dad was a sailor. He left before I was born."

"We won't give up," Ron said. "It all adds up."

"It's _mythology_ ," Annabeth stressed. Thunder shook the castle. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Why does that keep happening?" Again, thunder.

"Annabeth," Percy said. Then he said something in a language Harry didn't understand nor recognize. Annabeth responded in the same language, a little harsher. They seemed to be arguing.

Hermione suddenly stepped back, shocked. She had come to some kind of shocking conclusion. "Oh…" She put her hand to her mouth. "Ohhh…. Oh my God."

Percy and Annabeth turned to her, having come to some sort of agreement. "Are you alright?" Annabeth asked. Harry didn't notice that the ball point pen was now gone from the desk.

"That language," Hermione whispered. "Ancient Greek."

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other.

"You're Greek," Hermione said, louder. "You're Greek demigods."

"Whaaatttt?" Percy said, completely unbelievably. "No."

"You are, aren't you. That's why you're better at the Greek gods, that's why you like Poseidon the best. You're _his_ son, not Neptune's."

"Hermione," Annabeth asked, concerned. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Athena," Hermione muttered.

Annabeth looked startled for a second then composed herself.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked.

"Athena, you're Athena's daughter."

Annabeth looked at Percy. She sighed. "You cannot tell anyone about this." The castle shook with thunder, lightning lit up the room. "Oh be quiet," Annabeth said to the sky. "They figured it out." It all stopped abruptly. One long boom of thunder rang out like a yell.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were a little more surprised than they expected themselves to be. Deep down, they'd hoped they were wrong, that Neville was crazy, that they'd imagined Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, that none of it was real. But alas, they were right. They were standing in front of two real-life demigods like the ones from the stories.

"So, my dream…" Harry trailed off.

"What dream?" Percy asked.

"You two hanging off a cliff, about to fall to Tartarus."

"Oh yeah, that wasn't fun," Annabeth said.

"No, but they give good tours. One star for hospitality, though."

Annabeth chuckled. She looked back at the wizards. "Anything else?"

"Athena and Poseidon's children?" Hermione clarified.

"Yep." Suddenly, Percy and Annabeth's bonds fell away, the rope cut clean through. Percy was holding his ball point pen. "Well, that was a good chat, but I'm tired now so I'm going to bed." He took Annabeth's hand and they headed out.

"But-" Ron and Hermione stuttered. "The rope. How-?"

"Story for another day, my friends," Percy called as he closed the door behind him, leaving Harry with his mind in pieces for the second time that week.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Sooooooo… I'm sorry I kinda went MIA for a bit… School, sports, music, the works. I also kinda fell into the Supercorp hole (Kara and Lena from the CW's Supergirl) and, welllll… Yeah. The timeline's probably a bit off, but this is now the second week of September. Ignore anything else, I'm getting back to the book's plot. Oh God literally none of this story makes sense and I keep forgetting details and wow this is a mess. Basically, when I started this** _ **last year**_ **, I had a plan but since then, it hasn't gotten far. I'VE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR WTF HOW AM I NOT EVEN HALFWAY THROUGH**

* * *

The mid-September rain had begun in Scotland, signaling that autumn was in full swing. Umbridge was continuing her reign of terror, becoming the High Inquisitor, a position which gave her way too much power that she was already abusing.

Hermione was sitting alone in the common room doing homework and thinking about nothing in particular when an idea came to her. It was an idea so inspiring that she had to act on it right away, especially given You-Know-Who's impending return. As she moved from her position on the couch to find a quill and some parchment, Annabeth came into the common room. Hermione slammed back down and pulled her textbook up a little higher, trying to cover her face. She wasn't necessarily _avoiding_ Percy and Annabeth, she was just a little scared of them. Percy had a sword, an actual _sword_ , and they were the children of actual gods. Hermione didn't know how dangerous they were. What if Annabeth had a sword, too? Hermione hadn't thought of that. If Percy had one and if their stories about monsters were true then it made sense that they would carry weapons. But what kind of weapons? Hermione remembered the strange bronze glow of Percy's sword. Were they made of the normal materials? Steel, iron, gold? Was that what swords were made of? Hermione didn't know.

"Hey, Hermione!" Annabeth said, coming over.

Hermione put down her book and forced a smile, "Annabeth, hi."

"What'cha doing?"

"Just some homework."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh." Hermione wanted her to go away.

"Your book is upside down."

Hermione looked. Annabeth was right. Hermione's cheeks flushed. "Oh. Ha ha."

"What's on your mind?" Annabeth sat down across from Hermione. "You can tell me, and besides, I told you _my_ secret so…"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I had this idea. It's absolutely mental, but I think it could work."

"What is it?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Umbridge still isn't teaching us anything, so I was thinking that we should teach ourselves. Harry has been through so much and I just thought that maybe he could be… I don't know - our leader? You know, prepare us for the inevitable battle against You-Know-Who."

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Back home, kids train kids all the time. Percy usually does swords and canoeing and I've been teaching strategy and ancient Greek classes since I was eleven."

Hermione was a little shocked at the supportive reaction, and her fear of Annabeth melted away at the sight of the other girl's warm smile. "I just don't know what he'll say…" Hermione admitted.

"Well, I think it's a great idea. He may need time to get used to the idea, but I'm sure he'll do it eventually."

"I'll talk to him tonight."

* * *

Telling Harry about her idea did not go as planned. Needless to say, Harry said no. Hermione and Ron managed to convince him to think about it, but there wasn't much hope. He'd gone off on a huge rant about luck and how he didn't know how he was still alive and all that and it ended with a bowl of Murtlap essence crashing onto the floor. Percy and Annabeth had been standing close by and quickly left when Harry began shouting, seeming to know that this was between the magical trio and the mythical duo being there would do anything but help the matter.

Percy and Annabeth did not go far, however. They made for the stairs but didn't climb more than three, straining to listen to Harry's reasoning. When it was over, they rushed up towards the secluded corner they'd found recently and talked over what they'd heard.

"I think it's a great idea," Percy said. "These kids need to be able to defend themselves."

"I gave Hermione my full support, but Harry's been through a lot even by demigod standards and I get where he's coming from." Annabeth muttered. "Maybe we could offer to help, take some of the weight off."

"How?" Percy asked. "I can't do anything with my wand."

"I mean like hand-to-hand. Like how we train. Wands don't magically appear in their owners pockets, do they? Maybe us offering to help will convince Harry."

"Why can't someone else do it?" Percy wondered.

"It needs to be him. Hermione is smart, but she doesn't have enough experience. It can't be us either; we're not wizards. And Ron…" Annabeth trailed off when she noticed that Percy wasn't paying attention anymore. "What?" She asked.

"Did I ever tell you I love you?" He asked and Annabeth almost laughed.

"Yes. On many occasions."

"Well, I do."

"I know." She smiled. "I love you too."

He kissed her and she smiled against his lips. How was she so lucky?

Percy pulled away and said, "We can't make him do it. He has to make the decision on his own."

"You're smarter than you look, Seaweed Brain."

He rolled his eyes but his mouth turned upwards into a smirk. "Oh, shut up and come here."

And he was kissing her again. Annabeth felt her senses go numb as they always did when she kissed Percy. She both hated and loved the effect he had on her. She smiled as she thought, _it's like magic_.

* * *

It was almost October when Harry finally made his decision. Hermione arranged a meeting at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. It was invite only to avoid the obvious complications that would come with posters around school.

Percy and Annabeth stood at the back as everyone filed inside. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood at the front. Percy held back a smile at Harry's pale face and awkward interactions with everyone. The poor boy kept whispering, seemingly panicked, to his two best friends who simply shrugged it all off.

"Er," said Hermione, her voice slightly higher than usual out of nerves. Percy suppressed the urge to give her the thumbs-up. "Well — er — hi."

The group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry.

"Well . . . erm . . . well, you know why you're here. Erm . . . well, Harry here had the idea — I mean" — Harry had thrown her a sharp look — "I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts — and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us" — (Hermione's voice became suddenly much stronger and more confident) — "because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts—"

"Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein, and Hermione looked heartened.

"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands." She paused, looked sideways at Harry, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells —"

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" said Michael Corner.

"Of course I do," said Hermione at once. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because . . . because . . ." She took a great breath and finished, "Because Lord Voldemort's back."

Percy was surprised to hear gasps and cries, as if Voldemort's return wasn't common knowledge. "You guys didn't know he was back?" Percy asked.

Immediately, all eyes were on him.

"He means," Annabeth broke in. "That over in the states, it's common knowledge."

Percy gulped and nodded. "Yep, what she said."

Harry gave him a suspicious once-over but looked away as soon as all eyes were once again trained on him. It sounds awful, but Percy was glad that he wasn't the Chosen One - well, he was, and so was Annabeth, but just not to them, and for that, he was grateful.

"Well . . . that's the plan anyway," said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it —" Hermione began.

"You mean, Dumbledore believes him," said the blond boy, nodding at Harry.

"Who are you?" said Ron rather rudely.

"Zacharias Smith," said the boy, "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."

"Look," said Hermione, intervening swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about —"

"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry.

It dawned on Percy then, why there were so many people there. He should have seen this coming. Some of these people — maybe even most of them — had turned up in the hope of hearing Harry's story firsthand. It made him sick - that wasn't what this was about.

"What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?" he asked, looking Zacharias straight in the face. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. Percy had the impression that even the barman was listening in. He was wiping the same glass with the filthy rag; it was becoming steadily dirtier.

Zacharias said dismissively, "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know —"

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you," Harry said. His temper, always so close to the surface these days, was rising again. He did not take his eyes from Zacharias Smith's aggressive face, determined not to look at Cho. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."

Percy wanted to applaud Harry for his confidence, for not giving Zacharias what he wanted.

"So," said Hermione, her voice very high-pitched again. "So . . . like I was saying . . . if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to —"

"Is it true," interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Harry, "that you can produce a Patronus?"

There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.

"Yeah," said Harry slightly defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

The phrase stirred something in Harry's memory.

"Er — you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked.

The girl smiled. "She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So — is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Blimey, Harry!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," said Fred, grinning at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong," mumbled Harry and a couple of people laughed. The veiled witch sitting alone shifted very slightly in her seat.

"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year. . . ."

"Er — yeah, I did, yeah," said Harry.

Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled, the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks, and Lavender Brown said "wow" softly. Harry was feeling slightly hot around the collar now; he was determinedly looking anywhere but at Cho.

"And in our first year," said Neville to the group at large, "he saved that Sorcerous Stone —"

"Sorcerer's," hissed Hermione.

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," finished Neville.

Hannah Abbott's eyes were as round as Galleons.

"And that's not to mention," said Cho (Harry's eyes snapped onto her, she was looking at him, smiling; his stomach did another somersault), "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year — getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and things. . . ."

Percy whistled appreciatively, even by demigod standards, Harry Potter was no doubt accomplished. He'd done more than most demigods - he had also lived longer than most Greek demigods, but Percy would never say that aloud. "Gods, Harry. No wonder they call you the Chosen One."

Annabeth elbowed him. Hard. He bit his tongue. "Ow," he hissed, maybe exaggerating the pain a tiny little bit.

She motioned for them to go on, and then whispered to Percy, "You and I may not care that we're 'Chosen Ones'-" she used her fingers to do air quotes - "but it's a soft spot for _him_."

Percy mumbled an apology and turned back to Harry who had begun talking again. "... trying to be modest or anything, but... I had a lot of help with all that stuff..."

"Not with the dragon, you didn't," said Michael Corner at once. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying..."

"Yeah, well —" said Harry, feeling it would be churlish to disagree.

"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," said Susan Bones.

"No," said Harry, "no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is —"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" said Zacharias Smith.

"Here's an idea," said Ron loudly, before Harry could speak, "why don't you shut your mouth?"

"Hear, hear," Percy said, slightly too loud, earning the attention and another elbow to the ribs.

"News flash, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth hissed. "We're trying _not_ to bring attention to ourselves."

"Right, sorry."

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it," Zacharias said. Percy could sense that he was getting on everybody's nerves by this point, and Percy was itching to scare him into silence with Riptide.

"That's not what he said," snarled Fred Weasley.

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" inquired George, pulling a long and lethal-looking metal instrument from inside one of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Fred.

"Yes, well," said Hermione hastily, "moving on . . . the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?"

There was a murmur of general agreement. Zacharias folded his arms and said nothing, though perhaps this was because he was too busy keeping an eye on the instrument in George's hand.

"Right," said Hermione, looking relieved that something had at last been settled. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week —"

"Hang on," said Angelina, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," said Cho, "nor with ours."

"Nor ours," added Zacharias Smith.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Hermione, slightly impatiently, "but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters —"

"Well said!" barked Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry had been expecting to speak long before this. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!"

He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry, "Surely not!" When nobody spoke, he went on, "I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Obviously they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells —"

"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione, "is that she's got some... some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry."

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."

"What?" said Harry, completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.

"Hold up," Percy said, continuing as he didn't feel a jab between his third and fourth rib, "Say what now?"

"Yes, he's got an army of heliopaths," said Luna solemnly.

"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.

"Yes, he has," said Luna.

"What are heliopaths, exactly?" asked Percy.

"They're spirits of fire," said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever. "Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of —"

"Sounds a little like a Hellhound," Annabeth put in.

"They don't exist, Annabeth," said Hermione tartly.

"Oh yes they do!" said Luna angrily.

"Yeah... yeah; I'm with Luna on this one," Percy said. "And I've _got_ proof." He slipped his cloak off his shoulder to reveal four long white lines.

"Yehhhp," Annabeth agreed, rolling up her pant leg to show identical lines. "Too much proof," Annabeth muttered.

Everyone stared.

"Woah…" Neville gasped.

"That doesn't make sense," Luna said. "My father said they're peaceful creatures."

"Well, someone should tell them that." Percy pulled his sleeve down as Annabeth tugged her pant leg back to her ankle.

" _Hem_ , _hem_ ," said Ginny in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge

that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed.

"As interesting as that is, weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and get Defense lessons?"

"Yes," said Hermione at once, "yes, we were, you're right. . . ."

"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Lee Jordan.

"As long as —" began Angelina.

"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," said Hermione in a tense voice. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet. . . ."

This was rather more difficult; the whole group fell silent.

"Library?" suggested Katie Bell after a few moments.

"I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library," said Harry.

"Maybe an unused classroom?" said Dean.

"Yeah," said Ron, "McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard. . . ."

That seemed a sound plan for Percy: McGonagall had quickly become his favourite teacher. She was pretty chill in his opinion. And she was a great teacher despite her reputation for being strict. However, for some reason, this was thrown off the table right away.

"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," said Hermione. "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting."

Hermione pulled out a quill and some parchment (despite now having several weeks of Hogwarts under his belt, Percy still didn't understand what was wrong with a pen and paper) and encouraged everyone to sign their names.

After General Annoyance Zacharias was annoying, the list was completed and Percy and Annabeth left hand-in-hand with a quick goodbye.

"I hope this works out," Annabeth said, leaning into Percy's arm as they walked through the rainy cobblestone street of Hogsmeade.

"Yeah." Percy said. "They need to be ready. Voldemort's coming and I won't have any more friends dying."

"Not when we can do something about it," Annabeth agreed, finishing Percy's thoughts. "Less talk about war, let's enjoy the fact that we're spending a year in Europe. Together."

"There's a reason your nickname is what it is."

"Ditto."

"Oh, shut up so I can kiss you."

* * *

 **Happy Holidays everyone! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah (even though it's over by now)! Merry Kwanzaa! Enjoy your winter break for those in school! Look forward to more updates (hopefully)!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Y'all this whole thing is a mess, I can't keep up with what grade 9 me wanted with this in the beginning. Also my siblings read this wtf. Also, last thing: working on a re-write that WILL replace this if I finish it before I finish this. A bunch of this was taken from the book with P+A kinda added in.**

* * *

Harry felt happier for the rest of the weekend than he had done all term. He and Ron spent much of Sunday catching up with all their homework again, and although this could hardly be called fun, the last burst of autumn sunshine persisted, so rather than sitting hunched over tables in the common room, they took their work outside and lounged in the shade of a large beech tree on the edge of the lake. Hermione, who of course was up to date with all her work, brought wool outside with her and bewitched her knitting needles so that they flashed and clicked in midair beside her, producing more hats and scarves. Beside her, Annabeth's hands blurred as she attempted to race the bewitched needles in a weaving contest - like mother, like daughter, Harry thought with a smirk. Percy, being with Annabeth constantly, was also finished his work and was trying to convince Annabeth to let him go swimming in the lake.

"Come on, Wise Girl!" he pleaded. "Pleeaaassseeeee?"

"Fine, but if you expose us, I'll kill you."

Percy whooped and kissed her on the cheek before turning and sprinting right into the dark water of the Black Lake.

Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "What's in that lake, anyway," she asked. "He keeps complaining that something won't leave him alone."

"Rumour has it there's a giant squid," Hermione said, watching the lake. "But no one knows."

Annabeth finished her scarf before the needles and picked up a book. Hermione looked at her. "Have you always been able to do that? Weave like that," she asked.

"Maybe," Annabeth shrugged. "I only discovered it last summer when I was running for my life and had to build bridge. It just never seemed like a useful skill until then."

Hermione considered it for a moment. "Will you ever tell us what happened to you?"

"The less you know, the better."

"Fair enough."

Annabeth turned back to her book.

Ron looked out at the water. "He's been down there for a while, is he okay?"

"He probably befriended the giant squid," Annabeth said without looking up. "If he shoots out of the water brandishing Riptide, then I'll be worried."

Ron stared at her. "But… What?"

"He can breathe underwater."

A chorus of "Ohhhhhhhh," came from the three wizards.

* * *

Upon entering the common room on Monday morning, Harry noticed a large group beside the notice board. A large sign had been affixed to it, so large that it covered everything else on there — the lists of secondhand spell-books for sale, the regular reminders of school rules from Argus Filch, the Quidditch team training schedule, the offers to barter certain Chocolate Frog cards for others, the Weasleys' new advertisement for testers, the dates of the Hogsmeade weekends, and the lost-and-found notices. The new sign was printed in large black letters and there was a highly official-looking seal at the bottom beside a neat and curly signature.

 _By order of The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled. The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, high inquisitor_

Harry and Ron read the notice over the heads of some anxious-looking second years.

Harry was reading the notice through. The happiness that had filled him since Saturday was gone. His insides were pulsing with rage.

"This isn't a coincidence," he said, his hands forming fists. "She knows."

"She can't," said Ron at once.

"There were people listening in that pub. And let's face it, we don't know how many of the people who turned up we can trust. . . . Any of them could have run off and told Umbridge. . . ."

"What's going on," came Percy's voice from behind them. " _By order of the_ …" Realization struck. "Oh, Hades."

"I wonder if Hermione's seen this yet?" Harry said, looking around at the door to the girls' dormitories.

"Or Annabeth," Percy added.

"Let's go and tell them," said Ron. He bounded forward, pulled open the door, and set off up the spiral staircase. He was on the sixth stair when it happened. There was a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound and the steps melted together to make a long, smooth stone slide. There was a brief moment when Ron tried to keep running, arms working madly like windmills, then he toppled over backward and shot down the newly created slide, coming to rest on his back at Harry's feet.

"Er — I don't think we're allowed in the girls' dormitories," said Harry, pulling Ron to his feet and trying not to laugh.

"Here, let me try," Percy said as a couple girls and Hermione slid down and the stairs reverted into their natural state.

"Wait, Percy-" Hermione stopped her warning as Percy took a couple steps back and leaped up to the seventh stair. He stood for a second, waiting to see if he would meet the same fate as Ron. He didn't. Hermione gaped. Percy shrugged and continued up the stairs, returning moments later with Annabeth by his side, looking a little worried.

"What's this about no clubs," she asked as she came down the steps. As her foot touched the floor, the stairs once again became a slide and Percy, still a few steps up, crashed into Annabeth. She fell into his lap laughing at him.

"Guess once Annabeth wasn't in the dorms anymore, there was no reason for you to be allowed up there anymore," Hermione said.

Harry waved his arms, "Guys, bigger problems!" He motioned to the notice board.

Annabeth and Hermione moved closer, eyes skimming the words, becoming angrier and angrier.

"This is worse than the American public school system," Annabeth muttered.

"More like the British one," Hermione muttered in response.

"They're both pretty bad," Percy agreed. "But that's not quite the problem."

"Right, right," Annabeth said.

"Someone must have blabbed to her!" Ron said angrily.

"They can't have done," said Hermione in a low voice.

"You're so naive," said Ron, "you think just because you're all honorable and trustworthy —"

"No, they can't have done because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment we all signed," said Hermione grimly. "Believe me, if anyone's run off and told Umbridge, we'll know exactly who they are and they will really regret it."

"What'll happen to them?" said Ron eagerly.

"Well, put it this way," said Hermione, "it'll make Eloise Midgen's acne look like a couple of cute freckles."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Annabeth said, high-fiving Hermione.

"Come on," Ron said. "Let's get down to breakfast and see what the others think. . . . I wonder whether this has been put up in all the Houses?"

It was immediately apparent on entering the Great Hall that Umbridge's sign had not only appeared in Gryffindor Tower. There was a peculiar intensity about the chatter and an extra measure of movement in the Hall as people scurried up and down their tables conferring on what they had read. Harry, Ron, Percy, Annabeth, and Hermione had barely taken their seats when Neville, Dean, Fred, George, and Ginny descended upon them.

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

They were all looking at Harry. He glanced around to make sure there were no teachers near them.

"We're going to do it anyway, of course," he said quietly.

"Knew you'd say that," said George, beaming and thumping Harry on the arm.

"You, sir," Percy said to Harry. "Are my new favourite wizard."

"Harry! Ron!" It was Angelina and she was hurrying toward them looking per-

fectly desperate.

"It's okay," said Harry quietly, when she was near enough to hear him. "We're still going to —"

"You realize she's including Quidditch in this?" Angelina said over him. "We have to go and ask permission to re-form the Gryffindor team!"

"What?" said Harry.

"No way," said Ron, appalled.

"What's Quidditch again?" Percy asked.

"Not now, Percy," Annabeth hissed.

"You read the sign, it mentions teams too! So listen, Harry . . . I am saying this for the last time. . . . Please, please don't lose your temper with Umbridge again or she might not let us play anymore!"

"Okay, okay," said Harry, for Angelina looked as though she was on the verge of tears. "Don't worry, I'll behave myself. . . ."

"Bet Umbridge is in History of Magic," said Ron grimly, as they set off for Binns's lesson. "She hasn't inspected Binns yet. . . . Bet you anything she's there. . . ."

She wasn't. It was just the ghost of a History teacher as usual.

In the middle of class, Hedwig landed outside the window. Harry glanced around at Professor Binns who continued to read his notes, serenely unaware that the class's attention was even less focused upon him than usual. Harry slipped quietly off his chair, crouched down, and hurried along the row to the window, where he slid the catch and opened it very slowly. He had expected Hedwig to hold out her leg so that he could remove the letter and then fly off to the Owlery, but the moment the window was open wide enough she hopped inside, hooting dolefully. He closed the window with an anxious glance at Professor Binns, crouched low again, and sped back to his seat with Hedwig on his shoulder. He regained his seat, transferred Hedwig to his lap, and made to remove the letter tied to her leg. It was only then that he realized that Hedwig's feathers were oddly ruffled; some were bent the wrong way, and she was holding one of her wings at an odd angle.

"She's hurt!" Harry whispered, bending his head low over her.

Hermione and Ron leaned in closer; Hermione even put down her quill. "Look — there's something wrong with her wing —"

Hedwig was quivering; when Harry made to touch the wing she gave a little jump, all her feathers on end as though she was inflating herself, and gazed at him reproachfully.

Annabeth looked over. Her face went white. "Harry, you need to get her out of here. I'll follow you in just a second."

Hermione looked at her. "What can you…? Oh, Athena, right!"

"Professor Binns," said Harry loudly, and everyone in the class turned to look at him. "I'm not feeling well."

Professor Binns raised his eyes from his notes, looking amazed, as always, to find the room in front of him full of people. "Not feeling well?" he repeated hazily.

"Not at all well," said Harry firmly, getting to his feet while concealing Hedwig behind his back. "So I think I'll need to go to the hospital wing."

"Yes," said Professor Binns, clearly very much wrong-footed. "Yes. . . yes, hospital wing . . . well, off you go, then, Perkins . . ."

Once outside the room Harry returned Hedwig to his shoulder and hurried off up the corridor, pausing to think only when he was out of sight of Binns's door.

Annabeth joined him after a moment.

"What can you do? What did Hermione mean?" Harry asked, slightly distraught.

"Athena, she's the goddess of wisdom, battle and _owls_ ," Annabeth said as she motioned for Harry to hand her Hedwig. "I've never done this before, but I-I think…" she paused, looking Hedwig over. "Broken wing…" Annabeth muttered. She went to touch it and Hedwig flinched away. "Shhhh, it's okay. I'm here to help," Annabeth cooed and Hedwig seemed to understand. She let Annabeth touch the injured wing gently.

"Can you fix her?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but I need to get to the hospital wing." She started walking down the hall.

Harry followed closely.

When they arrived, Annabeth handed Harry Hedwig, "I really wish I hadn't lost that stupid hat…" Annabeth muttered. "Okay, stay here, I'm going to go find some supplies."

She disappeared into the room. Harry held Hedwig close, stroking her head. Annabeth returned after about a minute.

"We need an empty classroom or something."

They found one within the next few seconds.

Annabeth had Harry place Hedwig on a desk.

She took a deep breath. "I'm going to set her wing, okay?"

"Have you ever done it before?"

"On an owl? No. On myself? Yes," Harry realized she was rambling as she was preparing the materials, but it seemed to be her way of psyching herself up for this particular task, so he let her. "-gods, that wasn't fun. It hurt a lot, too." She cut some tensor bandage and patted Hedwig on the head. "Okay, Hedwig, this is going to hurt a lot, and you won't be flying for a little bit, but you'll feel better when your wing is set."

Hedwig seemed to understand. Somewhere in her dark eyes, Harry saw comprehension and he realized that Hedwig _was_ understanding. Somehow, Annabeth was able to speak to her.

"Okay girl," Annabeth said. Harry wondered if she was speaking to Hedwig or herself. "Let's do this. Harry, you might not want to watch."

Harry turned away as Annabeth took the broken wing in her hands. Hedwig let out a horrible cry. Harry turned around right away and went to her, patting her head as Annabeth carefully wrapped the wing.

The door to the classroom opened.

"Mr Potter, Ms Chase," McGonagall said. "What are you doing out of class in an empty classroom?"


End file.
